


on the edges of the world (and among the stars)

by schuylerhamilton



Series: star crossed [1]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Star Wars, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:08:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23332879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schuylerhamilton/pseuds/schuylerhamilton
Summary: “You know, Virtch, I have a theory,” He said, throwing the last wrench into the box and grabbing it. “I think you only like me because I’m a scoundrel. There aren’t enough scoundrels in your life.”There weren’t enough people in her life, period.Or, how a flyboy from Ilderton and the last princess of London, Ontario, fell in love. (A Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back AU — kind of.)
Relationships: Scott Moir & Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir/Tessa Virtue
Series: star crossed [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1731196
Comments: 10
Kudos: 25





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all!
> 
> On New Years’ Eve, I decided to get back into writing fic, so I sat down and started writing this. Almost four months and almost 20k words later, this is the result. This story is heavily inspired by the 1980 sci-fi/fantasy film “The Empire Strikes Back”, the second film in the original Star Wars trilogy. The prologue, however, is lifted from the first film, A New Hope, and is slightly modified to fit the situation. (Rather than simply being a city, Tessa’s hometown of London is an entire planet.)
> 
> I’ve decided to post this in parts, mainly because I still have to finish writing the ending, and because posting the whole thing at once might be a bit confusing for people who are unfamiliar with Star Wars lore. I’ve typed out a few things below, to make it less confusing. If there’s anything that you still don’t understand, please leave a comment and I’ll explain it to you!
> 
> Here’s the basics, that I recommend reading before starting the fic:
> 
> The Imperial Empire/The Dark Side - Large, evil military led by Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin. The soldiers are Stormtroopers, and the large ships are Star Destroyers. The TIE Fighters are much smaller, bow-tie shaped ships. The planet-sized battle station is the Death Star.
> 
> The Rebel Alliance/The Rebellion - Smaller military. They are fighting for freedom in the galaxy, and want the Empire to be destroyed. 
> 
> Droids/robots such as C-3PO and R2-D2 exist in this universe. C-3PO can speak English, but R2 communicates with only beeps and whistles (that are not translated into English). He is Tessa’s droid.
> 
> Hyperspace - Lightspeed space travel that can be activated using a hyperdrive, which is a part that all spaceships are equipped with. This allows ships to travel to one planet to the next in the span of hours or a few days, while normally the trip would take weeks or months.
> 
> Characters such as Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca do not exist in this story. General Rieekan and Lando Calrissian have been changed to become Patrice Lauzon and Patrick Chan. Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa are, of course, Scott and Tessa.

“General Lauzon. Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack, and I have been taken captive on one of the Empire’s _Star Destroyers._ I'm afraid my mission to bring you to London has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2-D2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on London. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Patrice Lauzon. You're my only hope.”

She replayed the message again. The grainy hologram, showing herself, flickered, and her droid, R2-D2, beeped. The droid, whose circular, metal exterior only reached up to her waist, almost seemed like he was saying, _There’s not much time left._

The princess sighed. “I know, R2. The best thing we can do now is wait.”

The metal interior of the _Star Destroyer_ that the princess and her faithful droid were currently being held captive on was not a nice sight to see. The cell block was dark, and the metal floor clanged loudly every time a person stepped foot on it. The princess hated it.

She peeked around the corner, and snuck a look at the pristine, all-white hallways that the guards, the Stormtroopers, roamed. The droid, carrying that important message to the General, rolled over and joined her.

The duo waited, staring at the shiny white walls and floors for what seemed like an eternity. Not a sound could be heard. There was just silence.

And then, a shot.

The familiar sound of a laser blaster made the princess draw back quickly, and she saw the red laser zoom through the hallway, no doubt hitting a Stormtrooper that was stationed at the end of it.

The sounds of blasters being shot and lasers hitting their targets seemed to last for ages, until a Stormtrooper appeared at the entrance to the cell block. He announced in a robotic, monotone voice, “Princess, you are to be moved to a different cell block. But before that, the Grand Moff Tarkin would like to speak with you.”

A chill ran down the princess’ spine. Wilhuff Tarkin was the most evil Imperial leader, next to only Darth Vader himself. Tarkin spent most of his time on the _Death Star_ , the Imperial Empire’s planet-sized battle station. The fact that something about _her_ convinced the Grand Moff to travel to one of the Empire’s many _Star Destroyer_ s couldn’t have been good.

The walk to the _Star Destroyer_ ’s command center was a long one, and the princess found herself becoming more nervous with every step. She had no idea what the old Grand Moff would do to her, but whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be good. Tarkin had a reputation of delivering some of the most sinister tortures available to the Imperial Empire, and he delivered them to Rebels and princesses alike. If a person wasn’t loyal to the Dark Side, chances were they would not be spared from Tarkin’s evil treatment.

The old man was standing in the middle of the _Star Destroyer_ command center when the princess arrived, his back facing her as he looked out at the galaxy through the huge glass windows in front of him.

“ _Tessa._ ” His voice echoed through the command center. “My dear, how are you?”

He turned around, and she finally had an opportunity to study the old man’s features. His sharp cheekbones seemed to take up most of his cheek and jaw area, and his red-rimmed eyes showed a man who had been hardened by war and evil-doings for years. He was tall, and extremely skinny, and it seemed as if he’d forgone all things that were necessary for human survival. The man simply lived for war alone. He was pure evil.

Tessa knew better than to take the bait; she knew Tarkin didn’t care about anyone but himself.

“I don’t want to engage in small talk, Grand Moff.” She said, trying to keep her voice from wavering.

“Well, that’s fine.” The Grand Moff said, a sinister smile growing across his face. “Let’s just cut to the chase then, _Your Highness._ ”

She gulped.

“What do you know about the Rebel Alliance?” He asked, walking closer.

“I- I don’t know anything.” Tessa said quickly.

Tarkin frowned. “Oh, I know you know _something_. Your father has been communicating with the Alliance for quite some time now, hasn’t he? If you don’t want to say anything, perhaps we could just ask _him._ ”

The Grand Moff showed her over to the large glass windows, and Tessa realized that her home planet, London, was in view.

“And if he doesn’t say anything, I’ll destroy that planet right in front of your eyes.” He sneered, and Tessa gasped.

“So, _Your Highness_ , where is the Rebel Alliance based right now? Where is their main base of operations?”

“I- It’s on the planet of Dantooine, sir.” Tessa choked out. That wasn’t true, and he probably knew it. The Rebel Alliance hadn’t been using Dantooine as their main base of operations for a while now.

“Ah, ok.” The Grand Moff said, and Tessa sighed in relief. Tarkin hadn’t realized she’d lied.

However, the Grand Moff noticed her relief, and paused.

_Oh no._

“Unfortunately, my dear, your father has made me quite angry. His loyalty to the Rebellion is… controversial, to say the least.” Tarkin frowned. “Do you know what that means?”

Tessa shook her head, and gulped again.

“I’ve been meaning to test out the capabilities of the large laser blaster on this ship, which is nearly identical to the one on the _Death Star_.” He paused. “Your unwillingness to provide me with the location of the Rebel Base has finally given me a reason to use it. I believe the laser has the potential to blow up a planet.”

“Which planet?” Tessa stuttered.

“ _Which planet?_ ” Tarkin repeated, mocking her distressed tone. “I think you might already know.” He glared at her, before continuing.

“The planet I seek to destroy is right out the window.” Tarkin said, and Tessa felt like she couldn’t breathe.

The planet was London. Her home.

 _“Your Highness,_ you will be the last princess of London, Ontario. Your family will die. Everything you love will be destroyed.” He smiled wickedly, and pointed at an Imperial commander. “Blow up that planet!” He yelled.

The next few minutes were a blur. The commander pointed a huge laser at the planet, and pulled the trigger. The planet exploded into a huge ball of reds and oranges and whites, which would have been kind of beautiful if it wasn’t actually chunks of London, Ontario. The Grand Moff ordered her execution, and Tessa was to be taken to a new cell block. She had no time to mourn the destruction of her homeland and the death of her family and her people. The same Stormtrooper that delivered her to Tarkin was going to take her to her new cell.

Halfway through her journey, another Stormtrooper appeared. “Excuse me, I have been authorized to take the princess to her cell.” He told the Stormtrooper that was holding her arm, and Tessa realized that he did not have the same monotone voice as other Stormtroopers.

“I’m afraid that I was already authorized to take the princess.” The Stormtrooper stared at the other for a moment, then said “Wait, who are you?”

Before he could say anything else, the other Stormtrooper removed his blaster and shot the Stormtrooper holding the princess’ arm, killing him instantly.

“Come with me, _Your Highness_.” The mysterious Stormtrooper said. “We need to get out of here, and _fast._ ”

“W-who are you?” Tessa stuttered. This man was obviously not a part of the Imperial troops.

“Doesn’t matter right now, Princess.” He said as they quickly marched through the seemingly never-ending hallways. “I found your droid, he’s already on my ship.”

“What?” Tessa almost yelled, but he quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Look, kiddo, now isn’t the time to ask any questions. I’m just doing some extra work for the Rebellion. That’s all.”

They stayed quiet for the remainder of their journey, with the rebellious Stormtrooper occasionally shooting any other Stormtroopers that they came across.

When they arrived at the Imperial ship hangar, he grabbed her arm and motioned for her to run.

“Where are we going?” She hissed, and he pressed a finger to his mouth, motioning for her to stay quiet.

“We’re going to my ship. The _Millennium Falcon_.” He gestured to the ship nearest to them, which obviously looked nothing like the sleek Imperial ships and TIE (Twin Ion Engine) fighters that surrounded it.

“We’re getting on _that thing_?” Tessa exclaimed. The _Falcon_ looked like it might break down at any moment.

“Yes, _Your Highness,_ unless you want to die on this _Destroyer_!” He said, exasperated, and Tessa followed him up the ramp and into the _Millennium Falcon._

R2-D2 beeped happily as Tessa and the owner of the _Falcon_ settled into the cockpit a few seconds later.

“R2! Thank god.” Tessa gasped, happy to see that her droid was still intact.

“He put up quite a struggle when I was trying to take him. He really didn’t want to leave you.” The mysterious man commented, the Stormtrooper helmet still distorting his speech.

“Well, can we leave on this piece of junk before the Grand Moff finds out I’m gone?” Tessa asked urgently, as the pilot removed his helmet.

Tessa studied him for a moment. He was only a few years older than her, perhaps, and he shook out his dark brown hair, which was staticky and messy from being in the helmet.

“Yeah, we can, kiddo. Hold on!” The ship shot forward, out of the Imperial hangar and into the stars.

Wasting no time in communicating with the Rebel Alliance, the man quickly grabbed his radio and said, “This is Captain Scott Moir. I’ve got the princess, and I’ll deliver her to General Lauzon shortly.”

Tessa breathed out a sigh of relief as the Captain pressed a button, and the ship was thrown into hyperspace.

That message, the last call for help, would still be received. The information that the Rebellion so desperately needed to survive would not be lost.


	2. one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five months after her escape from the Empire’s Star Destroyer, Tessa struggles to come to terms with the death of her family and her planet. The Rebels have found a new, colder planet to call their main base of operations, and R2-D2 manages to make a friend. In Tessa’s mind, Captain Scott Moir is nothing short of annoying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All sentences in italics are Tessa’s thoughts.
> 
> In the actual movie, it has been three years since the Princess escaped from the Empire and the Rebel Alliance had settled on Hoth. For timeline purposes, I decided to shorten it to five months. Also, Lieutenant Connix is a real character in the Star Wars universe. She appears in all three movies in the recent sequel trilogy, and is played by Billie Lourd, the daughter of the late Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia. Wedge Antilles is also a character in the original trilogy.

**five months later**

Her planet was destroyed.

The planet of London, Ontario, often shortened to _LO_ , had been wiped out. (Well, blown up would be a more exact term, but that really didn’t matter to her at the moment.)

Her father and mother, the king and queen of London, and her sister and brother, the princess and the prince — the heir to the throne, were gone. Dead. Destroyed in a huge cannon blast that decimated the entire planet, and blew the whole thing to pieces while she was forced to watch. The Dark Side held her captive on their ship, one of those stupid _Star Destroyers_ (she almost chucked at the name; those ships really _were_ capable of destroying entire planets.) She hated to say it, but it almost wasn’t that bad. The planet — _her_ planet, her homeland, was gone in a single second, thanks to the Empire. Blink and you’d miss the destruction of London, Ontario.

The death of her homeland had been something that Tessa had been struggling to accept for the past five months. When the green laser hit the planet, and bright oranges, reds, and whites, lit up the sky, it was as if millions of voices had cried out and were suddenly silenced. Her people were gone.

Tessa Virtue was officially the last princess of London (actually, the last royal member of London, _period_ ) and she hated the enemy. Once she’d escaped from the _Star Destroyer_ she’d been held captive on, the princess joined the Rebellion, to end the war against Vader and the Dark Side.

The Dark Side, along with their leader Darth Vader, had been around almost her entire life. The classic _Bad Guys v.s Good Guys_ fight had been going on for far too long. The _Good Guys_ , the Rebellion, built bases on planets that were spread out all over the galaxy, and it was just her luck that she was stuck on one that reminded her the most of her homeland in the winter.

Hoth was freezing cold, and dropped to temperatures during the night that were capable of killing any person or animal in just minutes. But the Rebellion leader, General Lauzon, said, that there was no way that the Dark Side — the Imperial troops — would ever be able to find them on such a remote — and chilly — planet.

Inside wasn’t so much better than the outside. The base was built into a mountain, which was filled with snow and didn’t provide much heat. The ship hangar was built out of metal and concrete, and the cold chilled her to the bone. Everyone on the base — generals, commanders, captains, lieutenants, nurses, and princesses alike — wore winter clothing all day, every day. Even inside the chilly base, Tessa had grown accustomed to wearing snow boots, warm pants, gloves, and at least two coats all the time. Just like the winters on London, the cold on Hoth never really left.

The princess shivered as she walked across the hangar, her dark brown hair pulled up into a tight bun, and her feet shoved into warm, white snow boots. The white vest she wore over her white parka provided little protection from the freezing weather, and she shoved her gloved hands into her pockets. Her thermal pants just barely masked the cold, and Tessa shivered again. _As a former Londonite, I should be more used to this,_ she groaned, picking up her pace in hopes of reaching the command center more quickly.

Her radio beeped, and General Lauzon’s voice could be heard from it. “Princess Tessa, we need you inside the command center at once. We’ve detected a life force on the planet that could be Imperial troops. Please come as quickly as you can.”

Tessa picked up her radio and responded, “I’m heading there right now, General. I’ll be there soon.”

As a princess, the Rebellion valued her input, and Tessa was often called into the command center, usually to direct troops to their ships, or deliver new information to the General. Growing up on a planet with very severe winters, her input was even more important now that the Rebellion was stationed on a snowy planet with conditions similar to the ones she faced in her childhood and teen years.

Tessa made her way through the snowy tunnels that paved the way to the command center, pushing her way past pilots and droids, and occasionally avoiding the small amounts of snow that fell from the ceiling. _This place is going to collapse one day,_ Tessa complained, _and hopefully I won’t be there to see it._

The command center was buzzing with activity when Tessa arrived. Members of the Rebellion were looking over maps and graphs that marked places of activity (activity that could possibly mean the arrival of more human life) on the planet. General Lauzon occasionally shouted orders, and pilots were going in and out of the center. Tessa felt like she was caught in the middle of a commotion.

“Your Highness!” The General called, and Tessa felt her cheeks go pink from embarrassment, or possibly the cold. She kind of hated when people called her that. In her mind, she really wasn’t a princess anymore. It was just a title. “We need you to look at new activity on this map over here. Lieutenant Connix suspects that Imperial troops have discovered our base.”

Squeezing through the crowd of pilots, commanders, and lieutenants, Tessa made her way to the map. The blonde lieutenant pointed out a dot on the map that was moving quite quickly. It stopped occasionally, as if searching for something. “We think it’s an Imperial droid, or a member of their troops.” The lieutenant explained. She pointed to another map, this one showing the atmosphere around the planet. A little dot stayed stationary in the atmosphere, and Tessa recognized it immediately as a ship. “There’s a ship out there, but we’re not sure what it is. It could be another Star Destroyer.”

The lieutenant and the General glanced at Tessa as she looked at the maps, her green eyes flitting over the screen.

“You could be right, lieutenant.” Tessa said. “Both the ship in the atmosphere and the dot, the sign of life, could point to Imperial troops discovering us. But I don’t think it’s a cause for concern at the moment.” The young lieutenant sighed in relief, and Tessa thought she saw a small smile growing across the General’s lips.

The older man had almost become like a father to her in the Rebellion. He didn’t exactly understand what she went though before joining the Rebellion, but honestly, could anyone? She was a princess who was held captive by Darth Vader and interrogated by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, who was forced to watch the destruction of her planet, and later escaped with some smuggler on his run-down ship (who _insisted_ that he wasn’t a part of the Rebellion, despite staying on the Rebellion base on the planet of Yavin before he rescued her). She was a _special case_. She’d heard some other Rebellion fighters describe her as _fragile_ , but Tessa was _not_ fragile. Not at all.

The smuggler was still fighting with the Rebellion, even after he’d received a medal for rescuing her (which Tessa thought was a bit _much_ ; she thought she could’ve rescued herself, if she was being honest) and a cash prize, which, rumor had it, he was going to use to pay off some mobster.

He was dangerous. He was on the bad side of a _crime lord_ , for goodness sake! _He ought to board his stupid ship and just go home,_ Tessa thought.

Captain Moir had no place here, on the Rebellion base on Hoth, in Tessa’s opinion. No matter how much the Rebellion needed him, she just wanted him gone. Tessa intended to avoid him at all costs, which, hopefully, wouldn’t be too hard. The base was cavernous, and she’d heard that a person could get lost in the tunnels if they weren’t careful.

“Hey, General.” A voice interrupted Tessa’s thoughts. She knew that voice.

It was _him._

Captain Scott Moir appeared at the General’s side, his brown hair messy after being hidden under the large, fluffy hood of his navy blue parka. “I know you know I’m not an official part of…” He paused, gesturing around the command center. “…all this, which is why I’ve decided that it’s time for me to leave.”

The General nodded. “Well, Captain, I’m very sorry to hear that. You were a great help to us.”

The Captain nodded, running a hand through his hair, and attempting to shake out the melting snow on his head. “Yeah, well, I gotta pay off Jabba the Hutt. There’s a price on my head, and if I don’t pay it off, I’ll be a dead man soon.” He shrugged.

_So it’s true!_ Tessa thought, eyes widening as she overheard their conversation. _He really does have to pay off a mobster!_

The General sighed. “A death mark really isn’t an easy thing to live with, Moir. You’re a good fighter. Everyone here will most definitely miss you.” He patted the Captain on the back and walked away.

Tessa rolled her eyes discreetly, but the smuggler noticed. “You’ll miss me, won’t you?” He asked, grinning.

“No, I think I’d like you gone.” Tessa commented, turning back to the map to see if the suspected Imperial troops had gotten any closer.

He sighed. “Well, Your Highness, I guess this is it.”

Tessa frowned, and turned back to the Captain. “Yes, it is.” _Thank god, he’s finally leaving._

The Captain — _Scott —_ seemed surprised by her answer, and replied, “Geez, don’t get so emotional in front of me. So long, _Princess._ ”

The sarcasm was not lost on Tessa as she watched him exit the command center and head into the tunnels. _General Lauzon was right. He really is a great fighter. And he no matter how much he denies it, he seems to care about the Resistance._ Tessa thought. _He’s a great help to us. Maybe… Maybe we do need him here._

Tessa shot up from her chair and quickly exited the command center. She found that the Captain had not gone far, and she shouted “Scott!”

He turned around, just a few feet away from her, and made a big show of bowing and saying, “Yes, Your Highness-ness?” This just made Tessa angrier, and she frowned again. _God, he can really be annoying sometimes._

“I thought you’d decided to stay. Here. On the base.” She explained. It wasn’t a lie, she’d heard more rumors of him staying with the Rebellion in order to avoid that mobster — Jabba the Hutt.

“Yeah, well, kiddo, I ran into a bounty hunter a few weeks ago, on Ord Mantell.. Running into a bounty hunter has the capability to change a person’s mind, you know.” He told her, and shrugged.

Tessa remembered wondering why he seemed so tense after returning from a supply mission on that planet. Now she knew why. A bounty hunter, probably employed by Jabba the Hutt, was after him.

“Don’t call me that.” She said tersely. _He is so, so annoying._

“What, _kiddo_?” He grinned. “Sorry, but someone wants me dead. I really need to leave.”

“B-but, we need you here!” Tessa stammered. “You really need to stay.” She said, imitating his tone.

“ _We_?” He said curiously, raising his eyebrows. Tessa sighed. She thought she might have known which direction this conversation was going.

“Yes, _we_.” She clarified, looking at him with as much of an annoyed look as she could muster. _Come on, is he serious? This is a conversation about the whole Rebellion, not just about us._ She’d known that Scott Moir was a ladies man, but she’d never experienced his… _charm_ firsthand. She and Scott just fought, all the time. They fought when he rescued her, they fought on his run-down ship, and they fought now.

The Captain scrunched up his nose, as if he were lost in thought. “Yeah, ok, but what about…you?” He said. “Hmm? What do _you_ need?”

_He is SO cocky._

“ _Me_?” Tessa choked out. “ _I_ need? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Scott sighed, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course you don’t know what I’m talking about. Of course!” He exclaimed, obviously frustrated.

“Well, what am I supposed to know?” Tessa asked angrily, as a small amount of snow fell from the ceiling next to them. She brushed the snow from her shoulder, and frowned, looking up at him. But, to Tessa’s surprise (and relief) he was walking further down the tunnel.

She decided to follow him. _This conversation isn’t over, flyboy._

“What am I supposed to know?” Tessa repeated, raising her voice. This got Scott to stop, and he moved out of the way as a pilot walked through, holding a box of necessary supplies.

“You know you just want me to stay because of the way you feel about me!” Scott raised his voice, too, and now Tessa knew that half the base would know about their fight by tomorrow.

Honestly, them fighting was just a normal occurrence for the other members of the rebellion.

“Yes!” Tessa argued, continuing to follow him as he resumed walking through the snowy tunnel. “You’re a natural leader, and you’re a great help to us!”

“No! That’s not it!” Scott responded, stopping in the middle of the chilly tunnel.

“Yes it is! I’m just repeating what the General told you! It’s the truth.” Tessa hissed, crossing her arms in front of her body. The tunnel had seemed to get much chiller all of a sudden.

“Come on.” Scott poked a gloved finger in front of her face. “Come on!” He repeated, a smile spreading across his face. “Hmm?”

Tessa stared at him (and his finger) before pushing his hand away from her face. She now understood what he meant. _He’s crazy! I do not have feelings for him, absolutely not._ “You’re imagining things, Moir, and you know it.”

“Am I _really_?” He taunted, raising his eyebrows. “Why are you following me, then?”

Tessa gaped at him, at a loss for words. God, this stupid man _really_ knew how to push all her buttons, and she hated that.

“What, are you afraid I’d leave you — oh, sorry, I meant the _whole Rebellion_ — without giving you a goodbye kiss?” Scott said sarcastically.

“I’d just as soon kiss a wampa, you idiot!” Tessa shouted, turning and walking away. The abominable snowman-like creature roamed Hoth, and Tessa knew she’d probably be able to find one. A wampa had even destroyed a tunnel near the outside of the base a few weeks ago, and killed a Rebellion fighter.

She didn’t bother to look back at him. For all she knew, Scott Moir was heading towards the hangar, getting ready to fix his ship and leave.

* * *

As much as Tessa hated Scott, she really didn’t want him to leave.

So when she heard that he did, she was practically livid.

“What do you _mean_ he’s gone?” She yelled, her voice causing the other Rebellion fighters in the ship hangar to stop whatever they were doing to observe the drama. “He can’t leave! General Lauzon said we needed him!”

“Yes, I know, ma’am, I— I heard what the General said.” The young pilot, Antilles, said. “But Captain Moir said he was only leaving the base on a speeder, to try and see if there are Imperial troops out there. He’s only trying to help.”

Tessa groaned. “Of _course_ he is. He says he isn’t a part of the Rebellion but he’ll still go out of his way to help at any time. How convenient.”

“Your Highness, we haven’t heard anything from the Captain.” A commander informed her. “It’s getting late, and we need to close the shield doors immediately.”

“B-but, he’ll _die_ out there!” Tessa cried. The temperatures at night were insanely cold, and she knew that a person could freeze to death in just minutes. Even though she constantly fought with him, the princess really didn’t want the Captain to die. _He saved me from being executed by Tarkin, for God’s sake!_ She thought, shivering in the cold hangar. _And he’s a great help to the Rebellion!_

“I know, but there’s nothing we can do. The temperature is dropping too rapidly. We’ll send out a search party in the morning.” The commander said solemnly.

Tessa sighed. Even inside the ship hangar, she could tell that it was getting colder. R2-D2 nudged her leg, and the cold metal of the droid caused her to flinch. The droid beeped, and Tessa nodded, and replied. “It _is_ significantly warmer in the Captain’s ship, especially since he repaired the heating last week. You can go, I’ll catch up to you later.”

Scott had been working almost nonstop on repairing his ship, since things seemed to be constantly breaking in the freezing temperatures. The _Millennium Falcon_ was almost fully functional again.

“R2 told me earlier that the odds of the Captain surviving are 775 to… 1.” A robotic voice interrupted Tessa. R2-D2 had made a friend on the base: a golden, man-made droid named C-3PO, who was designed to assist with language translation, etiquette, and customs. He was a great help to the Rebels, but he was also _extremely_ annoying.

Tessa glared at the human-sized droid. She didn’t need him to tell her the odds right now. “Please don’t tell me the odds, Threepio.” She grumbled.

“Oh, Madame, I was only trying to help.” The droid commented. Tessa just watched as the pilots prepared to close the shield doors.

The large metal doors of the base closed, and a large boom echoed across the hangar.

Tessa decided to spend the rest of the night in the _Millennium Falcon_ ’s cockpit. The pilot and co-pilot chairs were actually extremely comfortable, which was something that she hadn’t had the time to notice during her escape, and the ship was indeed much warmer than the rest of the base. R2-D2 has been right.


	3. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rebels make a frightening discovery, and the base is put into lockdown. Scott recovers from his unexpected mission, and Tessa senses a disturbance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where things really start to get interesting!
> 
> I cut out most of the Battle of Hoth, because 1) it’s a bit boring, and 2) it involves Luke Skywalker, who does not exist in this AU. Luke was also the one to get caught out in the snow, not Han/Scott, but I changed that. To avoid spoilers, there are more notes at the end of the chapter!
> 
> As always, kudos and comments make my day!

In the morning, the base was buzzing with excitement and chatter. A rumor, one that was Tessa hoped was true, was again spreading around the base: Captain Moir had found and destroyed an Imperial spy droid during the night, and a search party had found him. He was being brought back to the base, and was to be placed in the infirmary, soon.

“Is he injured?” Tessa asked through the radio. General Lauzon listened with her as they awaited the search party’s reply.

“No ma’am, he’s fine.” Antilles said, his voice sounding warped over the receiver. “He’s really cold, though, and we suspect he might be showing the beginning signs of frostbite. But it’s nothing that some time spent in the warm infirmary can’t fix.”

Tessa and the General, as well as everyone else listening in the command center, sighed in relief.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t leave as soon as he feels better.” The General commented. “We really do need him. I hope he realizes that.”

“But General, he has to pay off Jabba!” Lieutenant Connix reminded him. “No matter how much we would like him to stay, he really does need to leave.”

Tessa nodded. She agreed with the lieutenant.

She found Scott in the infirmary a few hours later, asleep and burrowed under a heated blanket.

“He’s doing fine, Your Highness.” The nurse tending to him told her. “Thankfully, we caught the frostbite before it could’ve severely hurt him. Like that pilot, Antilles, told you, it’s nothing that warmth can’t fix.”

Tessa nodded, understanding. She looked at the young Captain. His face was pink from the cold, and he seemed to be frowning, almost as if he was having an unpleasant dream.

Or maybe he was just cold.

She continued to stare at him, and the nurse left. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, and Tessa knew that he was slowly warming up. _He’s going to be fine._ She told herself. _He’ll be able to leave and pay off Jabba before you know it._

A small sigh escaped from Scott’s lips, and Tessa noticed that his eyes were opening. Before she could call for the nurse (or anyone within earshot), he reached out and grabbed her hand from her lap.

“Hey kiddo,” He said groggily. “Still afraid that I’ll leave you without giving you a goodbye kiss?” He grinned stupidly, and Tessa rolled her eyes.

Even while lying in a hospital bed, Scott Moir was still unbelievably annoying. She had half a mind to unplug the heated blanket, and leave him shivering in the bed.

 _Maybe he should meet C-3PO._ She thought. _They’re both so annoying, perhaps they’d get along._

Tessa decided to change the topic to his unexpected mission. “What did you see out there?”

“Snow.” He joked, and Tessa frowned. “Nah, kiddo, I’m just messing with you. I found an Imperial spy droid a little ways past the first Rebellion marker. It tried to shoot me, so naturally, I shot back, and it exploded.”

 _The first marker isn’t very far from the base at all, and the Empire was out there? This is bad news._ She realized.

“Oh.” Tessa nodded. “That means Lieutenant Connix was right. I need to talk to the General immediately.” She shot a pointed look at him. “Don’t try to go out on another mission while I’m gone, or I’ll have that nurse tie you to the bed.” She threatened.

“Actually, if you were my nurse, I think I’d like that.” He grinned again, and winked at her.

She rolled her eyes. “Shut up, flyboy.”

Tessa quickly exited the infirmary, her cheeks pink from what she hoped was the cold, and not embarrassment. She made her way through the winding, chilly tunnels, dodging nurses and pilots, until she found the command center

“Tessa!” General Lauzon called. “Did you find out anything new from the Captain?”

“The rumors are true.” Tessa replied, and the General grimaced. “He shot down an Imperial spy droid that was near the first marker.”

The older man paled. “Near the first marker? That’s not very far from here at all.” He paused, and Tessa nodded. “I’ll have to put the whole base on lockdown. Nobody comes in or out, not when the Empire got _that_ near to our base.”

“The ship, the dot on the atmosphere map, is moving.” The General said. “Lieutenant Connix and Antilles informed me of that earlier. If it comes any closer, and Imperial troops invade this base, we’ll need to evacuate immediately.”

Now it was Tessa’s turn to pale. “Where will we go? Is there a planet near here that other members of the Rebellion are stationed on? Yavin was destroyed in our last major battle.” She reminded him, referring to the forest planet that the Rebellion hid on just a few months earlier.

“Yes, I know.” The General said. “We’ve discovered another planet, called Endor. It’s filled with forests, similar to Yavin. If worst comes to worst, and the Empire destroys our base here, we can relocate there.”

Tessa nodded.

“I’ll tell the commanders in the hangar to close the shield doors.” She said quietly, before turning and exiting the command center.

* * *

The next two weeks were almost unbearable. The base was essentially a huge, hollow snow fort when it was on lockdown, and Tessa was _bored_.

There was nowhere to go, and nothing to do but wait to see if the Empire would get any closer. And occasionally help Scott with repairing his ship.

“Hey, kiddo, can you _please_ hand me the hydrospanner?” Scott asked her. “It’s in my toolkit, which is on the floor. And if you can’t tell, I’m sitting on the top of my ship.”

Tessa sighed. She almost wanted to throw it up at him, just to see what would happen, but decided against it. “Why can’t you just find someone taller to help you fix this piece of junk?” She complained, but he didn’t hear it over the loud whirring of other spaceships and the clanking of his tools.

Frowning, Tessa made her way up the ramp that served as the entrance to the _Millennium Falcon. This ship’s layout is so odd_ , she grumbled. The _Falcon_ was very circular, and Tessa found herself walking in a clockwise direction past the main corridor, the circulatory bay, and the bunks, until she reached the ceiling hatch that granted access to the top of the ship.

Being on top of the _Falcon_ gave a person a bird’s eye view of the whole ship hangar. From here, Tessa could see pilots fixing their X-Wings and speeders. She handed the hydrospanner to Scott and asked, “What do you even need that thing for, anyway?” The small metal tool almost seemed… unimportant.

“Everything.” Scott said simply. “This baby can fix droids, and almost any part on my ship. The hyperdrive regulator is broken, it’s probably not used to temperatures as cold as these. If I need to go faster than light speed, I need the hyperdrive to work.”

“Oh.”

“Tessa!” The sound of General Lauzon’s voice echoing through the huge hangar. “We need you in the command center, _now_!” He was frantic, and Tessa didn’t think she’d ever seen him this worked up before.

“Oh, shit.” Scott said quietly, beside her. This couldn’t be good.

“I- I have to go.” She stuttered.

She quickly moved down the ladder into the _Falcon_ , and ran down the entry ramp. Dodging pilots, commanders, droids, and lieutenants, Tessa ran through the tunnels, being careful not to slip on the snowy, icy ground.

In the command center, Tessa watched as a commander showed General Lauzon a figure on a map.

“General, there’s a fleet of _Star Destroyers_ that are coming out of hyperspace. They’re currently above us, in the atmosphere.” The commander tried to keep his voice level, but Tessa could tell that he was nervous. She was, too.

 _A whole fleet?! Oh no._ Tessa thought, as she and the commander awaited the General’s reply.

“Reroute all power to our energy shield. That should hopefully hold them off until we send the transports away, and get everyone out of here.” He paused, studying the map in front of him, which showed many tiny dots that were moving quite quickly. “Prepare for ground assault. Tell the pilots to to get in their speeders, or in their ships. I want everyone in this room out of here, as soon as p-“

The General was interrupted by a quiet rumbling noise. He, along with Tessa and everyone else in the command center, paused and listened.

“It’s the ceiling.” A lieutenant spoke up. “It’s shaking. They’re trying to break through the base.”

Tessa looked up and saw that there _was_ an extremely large crack running through the snowy ceiling. Small bits of snow were beginning to rain down on the Rebels, and she realized that they would all be trapped if they didn’t get out soon.

A crash behind them caused everyone in the command center to jump. A large piece of snow had fallen from the ceiling, destroying a computer in the corner of the command center.

“General!” A pilot raced into the shaking command center. “There’s an Imperial snow walker out there! It’s trying to destroy our energy shield!”

Tessa’s eyes widened. The large metal machine would be more than capable of shooting down pilots and destroying the energy shield.

General Lauzon frowned, and frantically reached for his radio. “Pilots, after you’ve destroyed, or attempted to destroy, the Imperial walker, please proceed directly to the agreed upon rendezvous point, the planet of Endor.”

The snow continued to rain down on the maps and computers, as well as the members of the Rebellion who were still inside the command center. The huge _thuds_ of the Imperial walker got louder, and Tessa dreaded what would happen when the machine (and the people inside it) reached the command center.

 _Oh god. I’m going to die down here, aren’t I._ This wasn’t the first time that the topic of death had crossed Tessa’s mind. Being a princess, the fear of attempted assassination was a very real threat, and the fact that her entire planet had recently been destroyed by people who shared the same mindset as the ones who were currently in the machine coming her way did little to ease her fear.

She _was_ willing to die for the Rebellion, she was sure of that. But dying right _now_ didn’t seem like the greatest idea.

“Tessa, we need to go.” The General urged her to leave. “I’m going, and so should you.”

“Ok.” She nodded. “Evacuate the remaining ground staff.” Tessa said into her radio, her voice shaking slightly. She watched as the older man quickly left the command center, before looking down at a map. The Imperial walker was getting closer.

The sound of footsteps pounding in the snow caused her to look up.

It was Scott.

Ice and snow had no doubt fallen from the ceiling and into his hair, and he was breathing heavily, as if he had run all the way from the ship hangar to the command center.

 _He should be gone! He should’ve gotten on his stupid ship and left as soon as possible._ She thought, shaking her head slightly. _He’s such an idiot._

“Why are you still here?” She yelled, trying to make her voice heard over the pounding of the Imperial walker (that was drawing nearer by the second) and the beeps and squeals from dying or broken computers and radios.

“I heard the command center had been hit.” He replied, yelling back.

Tessa shot him a look and gestured at the debris around her. “Yeah, no shit.” She muttered. “Why haven’t you left already?”

“I was fixing the _Falcon_!” Scott shot back, which caused her to roll her eyes. This was no time to argue. “And I came to get you.” He admitted, grabbing her arm.

“ _What_? Why?” She asked, surprised. He already went through the trouble of rescuing her from that _Star Destroyer_ just a few months ago. He’d said he’d just been doing some extra work for the Rebellion. But, for whatever reason, he was still here, months later. And he’d come to rescue her, again.

“You’re so stubborn, I knew you probably wouldn’t leave while it was still safe. So I took things into my own hands, and decided to make sure you left this snow fort alive.” He said, leading her through the tunnels. Ice and snow rained down from the ceiling, and the duo quickly picked up their pace. “Plus, maybe I’ll get another medal for rescuing you. And hopefully some more cash.” He added.

“Yeah, maybe.” Tessa huffed. “But you won’t get your reward if we’re both dead, so hurry up!” She motioned for him to move faster.

“Hey, General. This is Scott Moir. You’d better take off without the princess. I’ll take her to Endor in the _Falcon_. We’ll catch up to you later,” Scott said into his radio. He grabbed her arm and broke into a run.

They turned the corner and ran into the nearly deserted ship hangar, where the _Millennium Falcon_ stood alone. All other ships and transports had left already.

The two ran up the _Falcon_ ’s entrance ramp and into the cockpit. Tessa was relieved to see that R2-D2 was there, along with C-3PO. Scott didn’t even seem to notice the golden droid as he quickly sat down in the pilot’s seat.

As she sat down in the co-pilot’s seat, Tessa realized that her head had started to hurt. She closed her eyes, and scrunched up her nose, clearly in pain. She felt like something, or someone, was trying to get in her brain. She knew that such a thing would be silly ( _Really? Can people really get inside my brain?_ ), but the pain was intense and wouldn’t go away. She… _sensed_ something. Someone was here, on Hoth. _This is stupid._ She told herself. _I’m just nervous._

But a clear thought had entered her mind, one that she knew was true, and it wouldn’t go away. She’d felt this feeling a few times before, on the _Star Destroyer,_ and this feeling was usually accompanied by a person. _Someone is coming for us. I- It’s…_

“It’s Vader.” Tessa gasped, opening her eyes in shock. “Scott, it’s Darth Vader. He’s coming. He’s on Hoth. We need to leave. _Now_.”

Scott turned to her. He was clearly confused, but strangely enough, Tessa knew that he was concerned, as well.

“What? Tess, how do you know?” He asked. She decided to ignore the nickname.

“I- I don’t know how I know!” She shot back. “It’s like an instinct or something, ok?” She squeezed her eyes shut. “We can talk about it after you _get us out of here_!”

“Ok, fine!” Scott said, pressing a few buttons that turned the ship toward the entrance to the base. He turned on his radio, and called out, “Hey General, this is Scott Moir. I’ve got the princess, and we’ll hopefully catch up with the rest of the fleet soon.” He put the device down, and The _Millennium Falcon_ shot forward and into the sky. Tessa breathed a sigh of relief as the ship entered space.

After a few minutes of silence, she looked at the map and frowned, confused.

“Scott,” Tessa said. “Endor is to the northwest. Why are we heading north?” She asked.

The Captain sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I knew you’d ask that, sooner or later.” He paused. “Look, I didn’t know how to tell you this when we were dodging icicles and snow banks or whatever, but, um… the hyperdrive on my ship isn’t exactly fixed.” Scott looked at her, clearly waiting for her reaction.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” She said slowly. “Why is the ship heading north, if Endor is in the northwest?”

“Because we’re not going to Endor _right now_ , Princess.” Scott explained. “I can’t get to Endor if the hyperdrive doesn’t work. We’re going to Bespin first.”

“Bespin?” Bespin was a planet made entirely of gas. It was definitely not suitable for humans.

“Well, more specifically, Cloud City.” He said quickly, and Tessa groaned. Cloud City was a huge gas mining colony above Bespin, and it served as a place for many types of entertainment. She’d heard stories of huge hotel rooms that cost as much as 5,000 dollars a night, as well as casinos and, most famously, a place that made bone and organ implants for both humans and rare alien species.

“And what exactly are you planning to do there?” She asked.

“Fix the hyperdrive,” He replied, as if she were stupid. “I have a friend there. His name is Patrick Chan, he’ll help us.”

“ _Us_?” Tessa almost laughed. “No, he’ll help _you_. This is your ship.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He mumbled.

_Finally, I got him to admit he’s wrong!_

“But it might as well just become your ship, too, since we’re going to be on here for a while.” He spoke up again, and Tessa froze.

“How long?” She asked nervously. With no working hyperdrive, they’d be flying through space at a speed that was much slower than usual. That speed was usually reserved for short trips to neighboring planets.

“Um, about four weeks?” Scott replied, and Tessa shot up from the co-pilot’s chair.

“A whole _month_? I have to put up with you, and that stupid golden droid, for a _month_?” She practically shouted. She would normally be embarrassed, but they were currently in space. No one, except for two droids, was around and able to watch her and Scott’s bickering.

“Your Highness!” C-3PO said. “I do not appreciate your tone!”

“Yeah, Princess, don’t be rude to Mr. Golden Bones over there.” Scott said, and Tessa could tell that he was trying not to laugh. “Who is he, anyway?”

“Captain, I am C-3PO. I am fluent in over 6 million languages-“ The droid started, and Scott instantly tried to get him to shut up.

“It’s ok, I really don’t need a full explanation of who you are.” He snapped. “Anyway, yes. It’ll take us about a month to reach Bespin, even if we use the backup hyperdrive. And if I program it correctly, the ship will run on autopilot.”

Tessa felt like she was going to scream.

A whole _month_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tessa sensing a “disturbance” (how and why it happened) will be addressed later, possibly in an epilogue or sequel to this work. (When they were leaving Hoth, Leia did not sense anything, at least on screen, but she does later, so it’s very possible that she would’ve sensed something during the scene in question.)
> 
> Also, the trip to Bespin is a very popular discussion for Star Wars fans. Some think it took a week, or a month, or even four months. For time purposes, I’ve shortened it to a month. This gives our heroes enough time to get bored, but also gives them time to get to know each other a bit better. ;)
> 
> Again, kudos and comments make my day!


	4. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our favorite smuggler and princess get to know each other a bit better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in January, and definitely did not anticipate the worldwide quarantine to make this chapter very relevant!
> 
> Holochess is just like regular chess, but made up of holograms of various galactic creatures. A Wookie is basically a galactic Bigfoot. Very big, very hairy. Chewbacca, a character that I took out of this story, is a Wookie. A Wampa is just a galactic Yeti.
> 
> Also, because of overwhelming traffic on the site, A03 has now started not to count hits from users who are not logged in, so kudos and comments would be much appreciated! Thank you!

The first couple of days really weren’t as bad as Tessa thought they would be.

She tried to avoid Scott, but that proved impossible, since they were the only two humans on the _Falcon_. If she was eating, he’d sit down across from her at the table and ask to play holochess. If she was in the cockpit, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat and just watching the stars twinkle in the sky, he’d come in and watch with her.

Tessa could be watching the worst reality TV show ever made and she was convinced he’d ask to watch it with her.

She understood his need for human contact, she really did. Spending a month talking to a droid would make anyone want to go crazy, and both she and Scott were already annoyed at C-3PO enough as it was. And if it wasn’t for him, she’d be alone. She had no family, and everyone who was involved in the Rebellion was flying towards Endor.

There was something oddly comforting about being alone on a ship with Scott. Maybe it was because they were alone, and no one (except two droids) could be annoyed with their bickering. They weren’t even fighting that much. It turns out that when two people are stuck in the same aircraft for just a few days, they realize that they don’t have much to fight about. She’d always thought they’d eventually kill each other if they were stuck in the same space for too long, but right now, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Mostly, they just sat in silence. It was like there was an unspoken agreement between them: Scott does not want to talk to Tessa, and Tessa does not want to talk to Scott. The occasional beep from R2-D2, or a comment from C-3PO, were usually all that could be heard.

“Is it always this quiet on your ship?” She asked him one night, about a week into their journey. They were playing holochess, and she knew that he was letting her win.

“No.” He replied, watching her character, a Wookie, beat his, a Wampa. The holographic figures flickered, and Scott turned the chess game off. “Tess, I’m a smuggler. A scoundrel. My work is usually really chaotic. It’s never this quiet.” He told her.

 _There’s that nickname again_. She thought, before propping her elbows up on the table and placing her chin in her hands. Tessa start at him. “Why do you call me that?” She asked curiously.

“What?”

“Tess.” She replied. “And kiddo.” Her green eyes were looking directly into his brown ones.

If this was one of those contests where people dare each other not to blink, she would’ve won. He blinked.

“Oh.” He looked surprised. “It’s just a nickname I came up with off the top of my head. I could probably come up with more right now.”

“Really?” Now it was her turn to look surprised. Coming up with nicknames had never been something she was very good at.

“Yep.” Scott started to list them off. “Let’s see. What about Virtch? Or T?”

“Hmm.” She mused. “Those are good, I guess. But what would your nickname be?” She thought for a moment. “Oh! I know. I’d like to call you _Scotty_.”

“ _God_ , no.” He cringed. “That’s what my brothers used to call me. I hated it.”

“You have brothers?” She asked, and realized that this was the most he’d ever told her about his life. She had no idea where he grew up, or what he even did in between smuggling trips.

“Yeah. Two of them. Danny and Charlie.” Scott said, mindlessly tapping his fingers on the table. “They quit the Academy, just like me, although I advanced farther than they did. They live back on our home planet now, on Ilderton, but I haven’t seen them in a few years.”

The Academy.

The _Imperial_ Academy.

For the Empire.

“You were a part of the Imperial Academy.” She said slowly, framing it as a statement, not a question.

Scott nodded in reply. “They trained me as a TIE fighter pilot.”

Tessa watched as he continued to tap his fingers on the table. She remembered when he’d rescued her from the _Star Destroyer_ , how he knew exactly where everything was. She’d thought it was odd at the time.

“Is that why you knew where the ship hangar was? When you rescued me?” She asked, tearing her attention away from the tapping and staring at him again.

He nodded again.

“D-did you ever… Did you ever see _him_?” She whispered, and she knew that he knew exactly who she was referring to.

 _Vader_.

She almost expected to see him nod again, but instead, she could see his jaw clench.

“I’m so sick of people asking me that,” Scott muttered, getting up from the bench. “So, _so_ , fucking sick of it.”

It was obvious that he wasn’t going to tell her, but the look on his face told Tessa everything she needed to know.

The man that was walking away from her and making his way to the cockpit had seen Darth Vader, the leader of the Galactic Empire, in the flesh. Just like her.

Whether he’d come face to face with him and seen his atrocities (that he and the rest of the Galactic Empire tended to dole out like candy) firsthand, like she had, was another question entirely. 

She’d probably never know the answer.

The sound of Scott’s shoes on the metal floor reverberated in her mind.

They don’t speak to each other again for three days.

* * *

He found her in the cockpit a few days later, watching the stars go by. R2-D2 beeped excitedly when he came in, and Scott tapped the top of the droid affectionately.

 _Well, they seem to be great friends_ , Tessa thought to herself, staring at him.

“Alright, Virtch. We’re making an emergency landing.” He said casually, like it was nothing. Like he made emergency landings all the time.

Well, he was a smuggler. There was a good chance that he had made quite a few emergency landings throughout his career.

“What?” She practically shot up from the co-pilot’s chair, almost causing their foreheads to collide.

“There are a few Imperial TIE fighters in this part of the galaxy.” Scott explained, shuffling past her and sitting down in the pilot’s seat. He pressed a few buttons. “Obviously, we want to avoid them.” He looked up at Tessa. “Unless you have a death wish.”

“Um, no. I don’t.” The idea of getting shot down by a TIE fighter, or being taken captive (again) was not something that Tessa was fond of in the slightest. She sat back down in the chair.

“Ok.” Scott looked back down at the array of buttons in front of him. “There’s a small moon just a few minutes from here. It’s completely uninhabited, as far as I know, and it basically just looks like a large asteroid. We’ll hide out on there, probably for a day or two. Just to be safe.”

“Your friend Patrick knows we’re coming, right?” She asked.

“Yep. I told him that we’re arriving a little later than expected now, because of our emergency landing.”

“Oh. Ok.” In the back of her mind, Tessa knew that she didn’t quite trust Patrick. She had tried to convince herself that it was just nerves, or maybe the fact that she had no idea who he was, but deep down, she knew her instincts were correct.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Scott, because she did, she really did. Scott was one of the only people she had left, along with General Lauzon. She’d spent almost half a year with him, and at this point, he was one of the only constants in her life. She just wasn’t sure if she was ready to trust his _friends_.

The ship approached the moon, and Tessa realized that it _did,_ in fact, look like a large asteroid. Scott carefully maneuvered the _Falcon_ into a crater, and the ship landed at the entrance of a large cave. The landing was turbulent, and R2-D2 wobbled and beeped.

Tessa stood up, reaching her arm out to grab something just in case the ship wobbled again. Before she could grab the back of a chair, or anything else that could steady her, the _Falcon_ rocked again, and she was thrown backward into the pilot’s seat.

Into Scott’s _lap_.

He caught her, and his arms carefully wrapped around her. Tessa twisted, trying to get out of his grip, but he caught both of her hands with his.

“What do you think you’re _doing—“_ She hissed, and was cut off by him shushing her.

“Be quiet.” He whispered, and his voice was a low rumble that she could hear directly behind her ear. They were so close that she could feel his heart beating, and in the silence, she could hear him breathing.

The ship rocked again, softer this time.

She wasn’t sure how long the silence lasted, but to her, it felt like an eternity.

_I’m a princess, who’s stranded on a moon with a smuggler. And I’m sitting in his lap._

“I have a bad feeling about this, T.” He said quietly, and Tessa scoffed.

“Me too.” She said, her voice tense. A rocking ship really wasn’t a good thing. TIE fighters weren’t a good thing either.

She felt him breathe in, and his exhale ruffled the stray hairs that had escaped from her bun.

“You know, your hair smells like strawberries.” Scott commented, his mouth directly next to her ear. “It’s nice.”

It wasn’t cold in the cockpit, but Tessa shivered anyway.

“Thank you.” She said politely, and realized that the ship hadn’t moved in a few minutes. There was no reason for her to still be sitting on his lap, and in his arms. “Let go, please.”

“Don’t get excited.” He replied, and even though she wasn’t facing him, Tessa knew he was smiling that _stupid_ , cocky smile. She knew her face was getting red.

“I’m not.” She said, gritting her teeth and removing her hands from his. “Unfortunately, _Captain_ , being held by you really isn’t quite enough to get me excited.”

He gently pushed her off of him and she shot up out of his lap quickly, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Sorry, kiddo.” Scott said, shooting her a grin. “I’m afraid we haven’t got much time for anything else.”

He walked away, leaving Tessa alone in the cockpit.

His words echoed in her mind: _I’m afraid we haven’t got much time for anything else._

* * *

“What did you mean?” She asked, storming into the main corridor. Scott was attempting to play holochess with C-3PO, and he and the robot both looked up in surprise.

“What?” Scott replied, pausing the game. The holograms on the table stopped moving, and C-3PO made a disappointed noise. Tessa frowned at the droid.

“Turn him off,” She said warily, and Scott reached across the table, hitting the button that turned the droid off. C-3PO’s glowing eyes dimmed and he didn’t move. Tessa moved the powered-down C-3PO further down the bench and took the droid’s spot in front of Scott.

“What did you mean when you said ‘I’m afraid we haven’t got much time for anything else’?” She asked, and Scott’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Your Highness, we’re the only two humans on this ship, and probably in this part of the galaxy, for the next three weeks or so.” He said, leaning back on the bench. “And I know almost nothing about you, other than the fact that you’re a princess, you’re incredibly stubborn and hard-working, and you seem to have a personal vendetta against Darth Vader.” Scott shrugged, looking at her. “I guess I just want to know more about you before this trip is over.”

Tessa sighed. “You could probably find out everything there is to know about me just by looking in a library.” She said. “I’m a princess, Scott. I’ve been in the public eye almost my whole life. I’m surprised you actually don’t know that much about me.” She raised an eyebrow.

Scott leaned forward, and turned off the holochess board. The holograms flickered out, and he propped his elbows up on the table. “Virtch, I don’t wanna know your life story just by looking at whatever’s available in the library.” He admitted, his big brown eyes making eye contact with her green ones. “I already told you a little bit about my life. Now it’s your turn.”

Tessa paused. The destruction of London was still a fresh wound in her mind, and she was afraid that talking about her family and her former life would destroy the attempts at recovery that she’d made over the past few months. By pouring herself into her work and committing herself to the Rebellion, she was able to stop thinking about the horrors she’d witnessed on the _Star Destroyer_.

But maybe talking about it would help. Scott was here, and she had a shoulder to lean on. _The worst thing that could happen is that he looks at you as some fragile little member of a former royal family after this is over_ , She told herself. _And most people in the Rebellion already see me as fragile anyway!_

She took a deep breath, and jumped right in.

“Well, you obviously know that I was born and raised on London. My father, the king, worked with General Lauzon during the Clone Wars. My mother, the queen, helped as well. I, um, I had two siblings: an older brother, the heir to the throne, and an older sister. My sister was engaged to be married a rich man who she’d known all her life. They were childhood friends. My parents were very pleased with her decision.” Tessa paused, swallowing. She knew that Scott was looking at her, but she didn’t particularly want to look at him at the moment. Instead, she focused her attention on a scratched part of the table.

She continued. “I spent a lot of my time making decisions that would impact other people, not me. I never knew what it was like to be selfish, and originally I thought that was a great thing. Turns out it’s really not. I never got to do things just because _I_ wanted to do them. Whatever I did was always for the greater good of London. Learning a new language helped when greeting royals from other planets. Dancing helped me find a partner at banquets and balls. I had to represent my family and my planet in the best way possible.”

Tessa sighed. “And then all of that, everything I knew and was accustomed to, was thrown out the window when Vader arrived. I was my parents’ youngest child, but I had the closest relationship with them, and I guess – I guess Vader thought that meant that I knew something about the work my father was doing for the Rebellion. So he captured and tortured me, and Grand Moff Tarkin forced me to watch the destruction of my home, and then you arrived. You… you saved me.”

She looked up at him. He was still looking at her, and his brown eyes seemed wider than they were before. He almost looked like a wounded puppy.

His eyes were filled with compassion, sadness, realization, and… understanding. She felt like she could get lost in them, those beautiful pools of dark brown.

“When we were leaving, you asked me how I knew that Vader was on the base. The only reason I knew that Vader was coming for us on Hoth was because I’d only ever felt that sort of fear when he was around. It- It was like someone was trying to get into my head. It was _violating_.” She said, her voice shaky. “And it _hurt_.” Tessa admitted. “It felt like the worst headache ever. It was like a mind trick or something. He knew I was there, and I knew he was there.”

She took a shaky breath. “So that’s it, I guess. Is that what you wanted to know about me?”

“Tessa,” Scott breathed, and she realized that this was the first time, to her knowledge, that he’d ever said her full name. Not _Tess_ , or _T_ , or _Virtch_ , or _Princess_ , or _kiddo,_ or _Your Highness_. Just Tessa.

“Tessa.” He said again, his voice as soft and as light as a feather. “Kiddo, I am so, _so_ sorry.”

He reached across the table, and took her hand, and Tessa felt a tear slide down her cheek.

And then she burst into tears.

Scott got up, walked around the table, and wrapped her in a hug as she cried.

The tears kept coming, and Tessa was sure that she was causing Scott’s navy blue jacket to look wet and disgusting, but she didn’t care. She’d spent far too long throwing herself into her work for the Rebellion, and ignoring what had happened to her.

Scott rubbed tiny circles into her back, and Tessa realized that they’d managed to synchronize their heartbeats.

On the edges of a small moon, and among many, many stars, the only two humans in this part of the galaxy breathed as one. Together.

They stayed like that for a while, the smuggler comforting the princess as she mourned the death of her family, her planet and her home. It was all she’d ever known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene where Tessa accidentally lands in Scott’s lap is in the movie. Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford have an amazing amount of chemistry in this movie, which makes sense, because their relationship was very similar to VM’s. I highly recommend watching them act out this scene, which can be found here, at 1:40: https://youtu.be/p1BlfldOnjI
> 
> Again, kudos and comments make my day! Thank you!


	5. four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The “C” in “C-3PO” stands for “Cockblock.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not take credit for the sentences about Tessa having “at least five feelings, maybe as many as seven” for Scott, and if he was “as smart as she thought he was - no as she knew he was - he’d be able to see she had feelings for him.” Those are originally from Carrie Fisher’s book, ‘The Princess Diarist’, in which she discusses her feelings for Harrison Ford.
> 
> I am now finished with this work, so updates will be a bit more consistent from now on. :)

It was in the cockpit of an Ildertonian smuggler’s ship, on a virtually uninhabited moon, that Her Royal Highness Tessa Virtue realized she might possibly have feelings for Captain Scott Moir.

At least five feelings. Maybe as many as seven.

She didn’t know the exact number yet.

She hated it when she fought with him on Hoth, but he really wasn’t so bad. Sure, he could be cocky, but Tessa came to the conclusion that he just liked to push her buttons. A large part of the personality he presented to people in the Rebellion was just how he acted as a smuggler. After two weeks alone with him, she’d discovered that he was incredibly smart, and used his wit and cockiness to his advantage — clearly something he’d learned while being a smuggler.

He was nice. The way he’d hugged her was so comforting, and she knew he truly cared. He just… didn’t show his emotions often, she thought, but when he did, he proudly wore his heart on his sleeve.

If Scott was as smart as she thought he was – no, as she _knew_ he was; he’d saved her multiple times, he was definitely smart – then surely he’d be able to see that she had feelings for him.

The only problem was that Tessa couldn’t quite convince herself that this man would stay in her life. After everything she’d been through, she’d never quite been able to keep a friendship afloat. The person always seemed to leave.

Or die.

After Scott left the base on Hoth, she was terrified that he’d die in the freezing temperatures. It scared her.

She’d lost her family, her home, her people. She didn’t want to lose him.

This journey would eventually come to an end, and they’d arrive at the new base on Endor, and who knows what would happen then? Maybe they’d go their separate ways. Maybe Scott would tell his friends (if he had any; Tessa wasn’t sure if smugglers liked to have friendships with one another) about the time he was stuck on his ship with the hot headed, weepy princess from the destroyed planet of London, Ontario. Maybe he’d finally go and pay back that mobster, Jabba the Hutt.

Maybe he’d leave the Rebellion, like he always said he would, and start a family.

Maybe he’d change, somehow, and she would always be the mourning, trauma-afflicted princess who coped with her problems by throwing herself into her work.

He’d helped her so much, and what had she ever done for him? She didn’t know how to fly or fix a ship; she didn’t even know what a hydrospanner was. They didn’t have princess classes about _Millennium Falcon_ s on London.

She wanted to help. She wanted to _learn_ how to help.

They were still about two and a half weeks away from reaching Bespin, and Tessa was _bored_. Fixing the ship with Scott could help pass the time. After all, what else was there to do? Playing holochess for what seemed like the hundredth time seemed boring. As much as she loved watching the stars outside the cockpit windows, she had to admit that it was pretty dull. She didn’t want to talk to C-3PO, and R2-D2 spent all his time hanging out with the golden droid. Scott couldn’t work on the repairs to the _Falcon_ alone.

She sat next to him, in the co-pilot’s seat. Scott had determined that the TIE fighters had left the area, and the _Millennium Falcon_ was now free to leave the cave that it had called home for a few days.

“I think we’re ready to go.” He announced, pressing a few buttons. The ship lurched forward.

The _Falcon_ shook lightly as it began to leave the cave, and Scott sighed. “I hope this doesn’t have anything to do with the rocking that was occurring when we landed in here.” He commented. “Can’t have you falling into my arms again, kiddo.” He shot her a smile, and Tessa’s cheeks grew pink as she remembered their turbulent arrival.

As the ship exited the cave, Tessa noticed a low growling noise was emitting from the same spot that the ship had docked at. Scott seemed to notice it too, and he frowned.

“Shit,” He mumbled. “That… That sounds like a space slug.”

“A _what_?” Tessa’s nose shriveled up in disgust. There weren’t any space slugs on London.

“It’s an extremely large slug,” He told her, pressing a button that caused the ship to go a little faster. “And it lives in space. Or on asteroids and small moons.”

“Like this one.” Tessa said nervously. Scott nodded.

“Exactly.” He said. “And I’m sure that you don’t want to become space slug food, kiddo. Neither do I. So we need to get out of here, fast.”

The _Falcon_ zoomed into space, avoiding the small asteroids and other space junk that orbited the small moon.

After a few minutes, Scott had managed to re-program the autopilot to route the ship to Bespin.

“Alright, Virtch, only a few more weeks until we can get this ship’s hyperdrive fixed.” He declared. “And, having the autopilot enabled gives me more time to fix other things.”

“Other things?” _My god, how many other things need fixing?_ Tessa looked at him curiously. “Like what?”

Scott paused for a moment, biting his lip as he struggled to remember everything that needed to be fixed on his ship. “Um, well, being on Hoth kind of messed up the heating and temperature systems a little bit. Obviously the hyperdrive doesn’t work, and there are a few buttons and levers in the maintenance hallway that get stuck a lot. There’s a light in my bunkroom that always flickers, and the water is really cold, but I think that’s related to the temperature systems. Sometimes the lights in the cockpit turn off randomly, and I have to hit the ceiling to get them to turn back on.” He shrugged. “I think that’s everything.”

Tessa gaped at him as she tried to process this information. “Scott, how the _hell_ are we still flying this ship right now?”

“Hey, I thought princesses don’t cuss.” He grinned, leaning back in the pilot’s seat. “And I told you, the autopilot works just fine. You’re also looking at a damn good pilot.” He pointed a finger at himself.

“I can cuss if I want to, thank you very much,” Tessa replied haughtily. She sighed. “But seriously, Scott, this is ridiculous. I want to help you fix all this.”

She looked at him. It was clear that he was deep in thought.

Scott got up from the chair and held out his hand for her to take. “Ok, fine. But just be warned that this can be hard work, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. I don’t bite.” He told her, smiling a little. “I really don’t want to deliver you to the base on Endor with injuries and bruises all over you, or else General Lauzon will kill me before a bounty hunter can!”

Tessa couldn’t help but smile at that. It was true; the older man would definitely have a few choice words with Scott if she came back hurt.

She took his hand and followed him out of the cockpit.

* * *

The lever wouldn’t budge.

When Scott had ushered her into the tiny maintenance hallway, she’d felt like a fish out of water. Buttons, switches, and levers lined the walls from floor to ceiling on each side, and she had almost no idea what any of them did. The hallway was so small that Tessa guessed that only one person would be able to stand in it, with only a few inches to spare on either side. It was impossible for a person to extend their arms and make a “T” shape without hitting the numerous buttons and switches on the walls.

She’d thought that this job would be easy. She’d simply pull the lever down, and then join Scott in moving the junk that was stored at the end of the hallway. She wished that C3-PO would help, which would make the job a little bit easier, but the human-sized droid’s arms were bent at a weird angle, so he could hardly grab or lift anything.

But the lever wasn’t moving. No matter how hard she pulled, the stupid metal thing refused to budge. She was debating asking for Scott’s help, but he was preoccupied with moving boxes of cables and other parts out of the hallway and into the _Falcon_ ’s storage compartments. The hallway was so small that she either had to move out of the way completely when he walked past, or push herself up against the wall.

On his third trip through the hallway, they were so close that she smelled his cologne.

When had he started to wear cologne? Tessa hadn’t noticed it before. (It wasn’t like she had _tried_ to figure out if he was wearing any before. Definitely not.)

(She’d definitely tried. When they’d hugged after her… meltdown of sorts, she’d breathed in his scent through his navy jacket. He’d smelled the strawberries in her hair, so she was allowed to appreciate the scent of his cologne. She thought that was fair.)

The lever still wasn’t moving.

On Scott’s seventh trip through the hallway, Tessa had given up moving altogether. If he wanted to move his boxes of parts, he’d have to get past her first.

She heard the now familiar sound of him moving a box, which caused something to crash down onto the floor at the end of the hallway.

“Damn it.” He muttered, and the next thing she heard was the echo of metal parts being thrown into the box. Tessa turned, and saw that he was picking up and haphazardly throwing a few small wrenches back into their box.

She just sighed and turned back to the lever. Tessa had just started to push down on the cold metal when she heard Scott’s voice again.

“You know, Virtch, I have a theory,” He said, throwing the last wrench into the box and grabbing it. “I think you only like me because I’m a scoundrel. There aren’t enough scoundrels in your life.” He observed.

There weren’t enough _people_ in her life, period.

Her hands hurt from clutching the lever, and she hit a bare space on the wall, frustrated.

Great. Now her hand hurt even more.

She clenched her jaw and tried to ignore his words. He was seeing though her, and she knew it. Scott really was smart. He knew how she felt about him, even before _she_ did.

Tessa closed her eyes, and when she opened them, Scott was standing beside her.

“What?” She asked stupidly, before realizing he probably only wanted her to move so he could get by. “Oh. Yeah.” She pressed her back against the wall so he could move. He shuffled past, shooting her a quick smile.

Even though she never confirmed if his theory was correct or not, Tessa knew that Scott knew he was right.

The _thunk_ of the heavy box hitting the bottom of the storage compartment made Tessa jump, and she heard Scott’s shoes echo on the metal floor. He’d be back at any second, and she’d have to move again.

Unlike her, the lever hadn’t moved at all.

_This is stupid_ , she thought. _I need his help_.

Exasperated, Tessa took a step back, and ended up colliding with Scott.

“Whoa.” He grabbed her shoulders and gently turned her around, so her back was to the lever and she was facing him. “You need help, kiddo?” He asked, motioning at the lever.

“Yes.” She admitted.

“Ok.” He leaned forward, and after a few seconds in deep concentration, managed to pull the lever down. They were so close, and there was practically no space between them in the tiny hallway. Tessa thought she could awkwardly sneak out from under his arm, but decided against it. It was nearly impossible to move in the position they were in. She could feel his breath on her forehead, and she glanced upward at his brown eyes. His eyes shifted downward and met hers, and he smiled softly.

“Hi.” He murmured.

“Hi.” She whispered back, a small smile spreading across her face. “You know, I think you’re right.”

“About what?” He asked, staring into her green eyes.

“I do like scoundrels.”

“Oh, really?” He replied. “Well, for your information, I happen to like princesses.”

“That’s very convenient.” She murmured, her eyes flicking towards his lips.

“Yeah, it definitely is,” He said. “It’s so convenient, in fact, that now I have an opportunity to do _this_.”

He leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers. She wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled him in closer, her back hitting the lever. It hurt a bit, but she didn’t care. She was in the middle of space, on a ship that was practically just a bucket of bolts, standing in a maintenance hallway, and she was _kissing a smuggler._

They’d spent the last week and a half feeling exhausted, the non-stop fixing of the ship and sleepless nights taking their toll, but it was so _easy_ to forget all of that at the moment. Tessa felt like she could stay like this forever.

Yes, _forever_. Forever sounded nice.

Unfortunately, their kiss was interrupted by the sounds of R2-D2 beeping outside the door. Tessa heard the metal soles of C-3PO’s feet clatter against the floor, and the golden droid appeared outside the door to the maintenance hallway.

“Captain, I’ve finished moving the boxes!” He exclaimed, and Scott tore his eyes away from Tessa and turned around to face the droid. Tessa saw his jaw clench as he stared at C3-PO.

“Thanks.” He said bitterly. “Really, thank you so much.”

The droid didn’t pick up on Scott’s icy tone, and responded. “Oh, you’re perfectly welcome, sir.”

Tessa would’ve laughed at the C-3PO’s comment, but this time, she agreed with Scott’s reaction.

They had been the only two humans in this part of the galaxy for the past two weeks, and would continue to be for the next, and yet they had _still_ managed to be interrupted by a droid.

C3-PO walked away, and Scott moved to follow him, before turning around. “You know what? I think I’ll need to come up with a new nickname for you. _Kiddo_ simply isn’t going to do anymore.” He winked, and Tessa felt her cheeks warm up.

He pointed a finger at her. “This—“ He gestured at the space between them.”This isn’t over, Virtch!” He crowed, before walking out of the door to the maintenance hallway. “Remember that!”

She smiled.

This _thing_ between them definitely wasn’t over. In fact, Tessa had a feeling that it was just getting started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> Also, I altered the kiss scene quite a bit. It’s different in the movie, and makes Han seem like sort of a weird, insistent creep, so I changed it. Here’s an “alternate/extended” version of their kiss in the movie (on film!): https://youtu.be/MtYo1mhXqjM


	6. five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our space dates have almost reached Bespin...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short (ish) but sweet. Also, “space dates” is a term coined by Carrie Fisher herself when she watched Han and Leia’s scenes together on Cloud City. :)

The _Millennium Falcon_ had some of the worst coffee in the whole galaxy, Tessa was sure of it. It was absolutely disgusting, and she thought it probably had something to do with the fact that Scott hadn’t gotten a new coffee maker in what seemed like years. It sat on a small shelf in the main corridor that was obviously meant to serve as a makeshift kitchen, of sorts, and she suspected that the machine was an older model.

It looked even worse for wear than the Rebel Alliance’s coffee makers did, which was saying something. The Alliance was low on funding, and spent all their funds on things that were actually useful to the Rebellion, such as ships, speeders, and blasters. The coffee makers on Hoth had definitely seen better days. Apparently, good coffee wasn’t on the list of things that the Alliance deemed necessary to have in order to win the war against the Imperial Empire.

Another day of busy repairs was ahead, and Tessa already felt like she was going to fall asleep at the holochess table. It was still cold on the _Falcon_ , since Scott was still attempting to fix the heating and temperature systems.

She took a sip of her coffee and grimaced. It was terrible, but it would have to do for now. Cloud City would have much better food and drinks, there was no doubt about it.

Another mug sat on the shelf next to the coffee maker, obviously unused. Scott only had two mugs. She didn’t want to ask why. Tessa got up and poured the rest of the coffee from the machine into the second mug.

She made her way to the cockpit, where Scott was trying to figure out why all of the lights turned off randomly sometimes, and why they didn’t turn back on unless he hit the wall or the ceiling. R2-D2 watched from the corner, occasionally letting out a beep or a whistle to voice his frustration. Scott had his back to her, opening a control panel and digging around the many lines of wires on the inside. The lights flickered and went out, and Scott sighed.

Then they turned back on. R2-D2 squealed in surprise, and Scott turned around, satisfied with his work.

Scott smiled softly when he saw her, and R2 beeped happily.

“You have your moments.” Tessa told him, handing him the mug. “Not many of them, but you do have them.”

Fixing this ship proved to be an almost impossible task, but the Captain had tried his hardest to fix what he could. For the past two weeks, the _Falcon’_ s slow crawl to Bespin had been nothing short of interesting. The good moments outweighed the bad.

“Thanks, sweetheart.” He said, taking the mug.

_Sweetheart._

Scott must have noticed her slightly surprised expression, because he added, “Hey, I told you I needed to come up with a new nickname.” He smiled again, before taking a sip of his coffee.

His smile turned into a grimace, and he coughed. “Holy shit,” His eyes widened. “This is _terrible_.”

“You think it’s worse than the Alliance’s?” Tessa teased, and Scott frowned, trying to decide.

“I don’t know,” He said, eyeing the liquid in the cup rather suspiciously. “They’re both pretty bad. Thank god I’m not an official Alliance member, eh?”

He probably didn’t intend to phrase his sentence like that, but it still hit Tessa like a slap in the face. In two weeks, they’d say their goodbyes. He’d deliver her to the Rebel base on Endor and leave to pay back Jabba the Hutt.

She’d probably never see him again.

“Yeah,” She said quietly, trying to mask her sadness. “Thank god.”

Scott noted the sadness in her face, and gently grabbed her shoulders. She looked up at him.

“Hey, T. I didn’t mean it like that.” He reassured her, tucking a stray hair from her bun behind her ear. “I still don’t know what I’m going to do about this whole Jabba thing.”

“I- I know.” Tessa sighed. She decided to turn the conversation to their upcoming arrival on Bespin. “Do you trust Patrick?” She asked.

“No.” He said quietly. “But he’s no friend of the Empire, I can tell you that.”

“If you don’t trust him, but he’s not a friend of the Empire, then whose side is he on?”

Scott looked out the cockpit window, staring at the multitude of stars that seemed to stretch on forever. “Sweetheart, since you’re a princess, I was kind of expecting you to know the answer to your own question.” He turned back to her. “War isn’t always simply black and white. Patrick… Well, he falls into the gray area. He helps both sides, and pledges allegiance to no one. It’s how he survives.”

“So he’s like you.” She states. “Didn’t you tell me that you used to be a part of the Imperial Academy?”

“Yeah.” He swallowed. “But I never told you how I left.”

“How did you—“ She started to ask him, but he quickly interrupted.

“I was ordered to shoot down a ship that was full of children and families escaping their planet. It had been attacked by Imperial troops. I couldn’t do it.” Scott said quietly. “I purposefully crashed on a nearby planet and escaped, and one day, I met Patrick. He introduced me to smuggling, and he gave me his ship. _This_ ship.” He said, gesturing at the _Falcon_ ’s cockpit around them.

He paused, and looked away. “You’re right, I haven’t joined the Alliance, and as a smuggler, I have made some controversial choices in the past. I don’t know what I’m planning on doing after this, because there’s a bounty on my head, but whatever the hell it is, I guarantee it’s better than what Patrick plans to do. He and I may fall into the gray area, but I lean more towards the Rebellion than he does.”

Tessa nodded slowly. This man, and whoever he was associated with, had a complicated past, but he was certainly very different now. Becoming a smuggler had actually changed Scott for the better.

“Thank you for telling me that.” She said quietly.

“It’s no problem.” He told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I think we’ve both been through a lot. Sometimes, it’s just… it’s best to talk about it with someone you trust.” He smiled sadly.

Tessa had to agree with that statement.

_Only two more weeks until we reach Bespin.  
_

* * *

“T, I seem to remember you telling me that you’d help me fix this light.” Scott said, looking down at her from the small stepladder he was standing on. The light in his bunkroom that he said had always flickered had officially burned out, and they were in the process of replacing it.

Well, _Scott_ was in the process of replacing it. Tessa had decided to sit on his bed instead.

“Princesses deserve to take breaks,” She pointed out, looking up at him. The past week had been exhausting, with the two of them trying to avoid C-3PO at all costs, trying to fix whatever they could on the ship, and trying in vain to contact General Lauzon by using the _Millennium Falcon’_ s radio.

They’d played holochess (again), watched an old romantic hologram that R2-D2 had stored in his memory files, and taken an inventory of all the food on the ship, and they still had a week to go until they reached Bespin.

What else was there to do? Scott had reassured her that Patrick and his team would fix the hyperdrive, and anything else that was wrong with the ship, when they landed in Cloud City. Tessa wanted to spend this week doing something she hadn’t had an opportunity to do in a very long time: relaxing.

“You do have a point, sweetheart,” Scott pointed out, stepping down from the stepladder. “But usually, people take breaks after they’ve actually _done something._ ”

“I know,” She smiled. “But what else is there to do?”

The room was plunged into darkness as Scott turned off the light, and turned it back on again. It didn’t flicker.

“We could annoy C-3PO,” He joked, walking over and sitting down beside her on the bed. Tessa laughed quietly in response, and rested her head on his shoulder.

“That doesn’t sound like a very good idea,” She murmured. He chuckled, and they sat there in silence for a few seconds.

A thought had been bugging her for a few days, and she couldn’t get it out of her head. She needed to talk to him about it.

Tessa spoke up. “Scott, I don’t trust him.”

“Who, Patrick?”

“Yes.” She said, and Scott sighed.

“Tess, I bet it’s just nerves. You’ve never even met the man before.” He paused. “Is this about what I told you last week? About him not being a friend to anyone in this war?”

She nodded. “I can’t seem to shake this feeling that something bad might happen. You might be right about it being just nerves, though.”

Tessa took a shaky breath and continued. “I don’t know, I just— I want a break from all this.” She said, exasperated. “The grief, the pain, the fighting… the war. I like to think I’m a good person, Scott. I think I’ve suffered enough.”

She didn’t need to elaborate. They both knew she was talking about Tarkin, and Vader, and whatever remained of London.

That planet was just a bunch of rocks now, a collection of asteroids that floated around the galaxy.

Scott lifted her head off of his shoulder and took her face in his hands. The lighting in the room was dim, but Tessa was sure that he could see the tears that were slowly running down her face.

“Tessa,” He said slowly, his brown eyes just inches away from her green ones. “You _are_ a good person. You’re a _princess_ , for God’s sake! I know you haven’t given me all the details, but what Vader and Tarkin did to you on that _Star Destroyer_ doesn’t define who you are. I know some people in the Rebellion may think of you as a mourning princess, and while you very well might be still in mourning, I don’t see you as that at all.”

“Then what _do_ you see me as?”

“I see you as someone who’s strong. You fight for what you believe in. You’re loyal to the Rebellion. You’re stubborn, too,” He added, smirking at her.

“Hey!”

“It’s the truth,” Scott said, before the smile slowly left his face. “But, most of all, you’re _caring_. You care so deeply. You want to set things right. Those are all qualities a good person should have.”

He gently took her hand. “I want this war to be over too, sweetheart. I really do. But for now, we have to focus on what’s coming up next. The hyperdrive will be fixed, and I’ll take you back to the base on Endor, alright?”

“And then you’re as good as gone, aren’t you?” Tessa replied, the words coming out a bit harsher than she intended them to. “You know, you need to get that bounty off of your head.”

Scott looked down at their joined hands. Clearly, he was deep in thought.

“I don’t know, kiddo.” He said quietly, reverting back to her old nickname. “I still don’t know what I’m going to do after this is over. I wish I could tell you the answer to that, but I don’t even think I know the answer myself.”

He leaned forward and kissed her, obviously trying to avoid this topic of conversation.

When they broke apart, foreheads touching, Scott reassured her, saying, “If your intuition is right, and something bad _does_ happen while we’re on Cloud City, I’ll try my best to protect you.”

“You promise?” Tessa whispered.

“I promise.” He smiled. “I’ve saved your skin enough times already, sweetheart. What’s the problem with doing it at least one more time?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> None of this was in the movie, except for a brief conversation between Leia and Han about their opinions on Lando (Patrick in this AU), which took place in Cloud City, rather than on the Falcon. For the sake of time, I pushed it back a bit.
> 
> You can watch that scene here, at 3:32-3:52: https://youtu.be/p1BlfldOnjI
> 
> And, here’s an alternate version of that scene, which was cut, because according to the director, “the attitude of the actors was too obvious” (LOL): https://youtu.be/xWAXNqsAqvo
> 
> Also, the bit about Scott being in the Imperial Academy is ripped directly from Han’s backstory. In the comics, Han was a TIE fighter pilot. In his own movie, he’s just a soldier.
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are appreciated! Thank you for reading!


	7. six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud City has some very dark secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter to go! 
> 
> I’m currently in the process of writing a second part for this story. Obviously, there will be questions that need to be answered after the final chapter, but all of those questions get resolved in the third and final movie in the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, and the first movie of the sequel trilogy, The Force Awakens.

As the ship neared Bespin, Tessa’s head began to hurt. It was similar to the headache she felt while the _Millennium Falcon_ left Hoth four weeks ago, but not nearly as bad. Still, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

She wondered who, or possibly _what_ , awaited them once they landed on the sprawling, floating metropolis.

The huge, orange gas planet was now in view, and Scott had taken the ship off of autopilot. Now that they were close enough to the planet, he needed to do the steering himself. Tessa sat next to him, and R2-D2 and C-3PO were behind them.

The journey was almost over, and Tessa dreaded it. For the past month, she’d had almost no responsibilities as a princess, and spent most of her time doing mindless work on the _Falcon_. She couldn’t contact the Rebellion, but the General knew she was with Scott. He just didn’t know what had happened after they left the base on Hoth.

As the ship flew into Bespin’s atmosphere, Tessa got up and stood behind Scott’s chair for a better look at the planet they were arriving on. She rested her elbows on the back of his chair, and he looked up and shot her a reassuring look. She smiled softly.

Bespin was beautiful. The early evening sky was a mix of reds, yellows, and oranges, and the huge clouds managed to look intimidating and gorgeous at the same time. Cloud City was off in the distance, and seeing the huge circular-shaped mining colony floating in the breathtaking sky was almost like something out of a dream.

“It’s gorgeous,” Tessa breathed. “I can see why people would like it here.”

“Just wait until you see the inside, sweetheart.” Scott grinned. “It’s even better.”

R2-D2 beeped happily.

Suddenly, the sound of a laser zooming past the _Falcon_ snapped the duo and the droids out of their trance. Two Cloud Cars, Cloud City’s security ships, appeared in front of the ship.

The _Falcon_ ’s radio whirred and beeped, and the warped, staticky voices of the security officers could be heard from it.

“Do you have a landing permit?” They asked.

“No,” Scott responded, and the blasters on the front of the ships moved to fire. “Don’t shoot! Please, don’t.” He pleaded. “I’m trying to reach Patrick Chan.”

A laser hit the top of the _Falcon_ , which rocked the ship but did not damage it. Tessa closed her eyes. The headache was getting worse.

“Woah, wait a minute. Let me explain!” Scott said quickly.

“You will not deviate from your present course.” The security officers said, and C-3PO scoffed.

“Rather touchy, aren’t they?” The droid commented, and Tessa nodded in agreement.

“Scott, I thought you knew this person.” She said quietly, rubbing her temples and trying to make the pain go away.

“I do!” He reassured her. “It’s just… been a few years since we last met.” He mumbled.

“You have permission to land on Platform 327.” The security officers said, and the Cloud Cars raced toward the city.

As the _Falcon_ slowly flew closer to the city, the clouds parted and revealed the full view of the circular mining colony.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Scott said. “Patrick and I go way back, remember?”

Tessa thought about their conversation earlier. Patrick was the one who’d given Scott the _Millennium Falcon,_ and he’d helped him start smuggling. She remembered what he’d told her. He’d promised to protect her if something bad _did_ happen. 

His words echoed in her mind.

_I have a friend there. His name is Patrick Chan, he’ll help us._

_He’s no friend of the Empire, I can tell you that._

_It’s just… been a few years since we last met._

_There’s nothing to worry about._

The _Falcon_ landed on Platform 327, and Tessa’s head hurt even more. The city was beautiful, and was made up of huge, gray and white skyscrapers. Even the building that was attached to the landing platform was very big.

She rubbed her temples, and scrunched her eyes shut.

Something wasn’t right.

Opening her eyes, Tessa looked down at R2-D2. Her droid whirred, and rolled over to her.

“Stay here,” She told R2-D2. “Scott, C-3PO and I will leave.”

He beeped in response.

Scott rubbed her back lightly as they began to disembark the ship. She smiled, but she was clearly very tense.

The landing platform was completely empty when they walked off of the ship. The door to Cloud City was closed. It was completely silent.

“Oh. No one’s here to meet us.” C-3PO said, stating the obvious.

The hair on Tessa’s neck was standing on end. “I don’t like this,” She said nervously.

“Look, don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.” Scott told her. “Trust me.”

The doors at the end of the landing platform opened, and a man led a small group of a few aliens, droids, and humans towards the ship. He wore a red velvet shirt and black pants, and his black cape was fluttering in the wind.

_What an interesting fashion choice,_ Tessa thought. _Why would he choose to wear a cape?_

“See?” Scott said. “It’s my friend.”

Tessa forced herself to smile, but she was still very nervous. Her head still hurt.

Patrick Chan gestured for the group behind him to stop, and he continued to walk towards the ship.

“Scott Moir!” He called. “You’ve got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled.”

Scott pointed to himself, and mouthed in faux shock, “Me?”

Tessa watched as the two men eyed each other carefully, and whispered to him, “What’d you do?”

“Nothing.” He told her. “Just wait.”

Patrick moved closer, and Tessa looked at C-3PO. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” She whispered. The droid nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Patrick hugged Scott, and the two men laughed.

“I haven’t seen you in ages!” He said. “How’ve you been?”

“He seems very friendly.” C-3PO commented, and Tessa shot the droid a look. She was wary of the man standing near her.

“Yes, very friendly.” She muttered.

“What are you doing here?” Patrick asked, and Scott gestured to the _Falcon_.

“Repairs. I thought you could help me out.” He said, and Patrick’s expression turned to one of mock panic.

“What have you done to my ship?!”

“ _Your_ ship?” Scott said, surprised. “Hey, I seem to remember that you lost it to me fair and square.” He joked, and Patrick grinned and shrugged.

Tessa watched as Patrick’s eyes landed on her, and he smiled politely.

“And who might you be?” He asked, reaching out to shake her hand.

_“_ I’m Tessa,” She replied, trying to put on a smile. She still wasn’t sure if she should trust this man.

Patrick looked around the landing platform and glanced at the city behind them. He quickly waved the group of aliens, droids, and humans away, and turned back to Tessa. He studied her curiously. It was almost like he recognized her, which could be possible, since the princess was a well-known symbol of the Rebellion by now.

“Well, welcome to Cloud City! I’m Patrick Chan, and I’m the administrator of this gas mining facility. We’re so pleased to have you here.”

Scott laughed softly. “You’re not here to sell us any gas, Chiddy, and you don’t need to impress _her_.” He smiled at Tessa and motioned to the doors at the end of the landing platform. “Let’s go in.”

He grabbed Tessa’s hand, and the trio, and C-3PO, made their way into Cloud City.

The doors opened and Tessa’s jaw dropped open slightly, in awe. Scott had been right; the inside _was_ gorgeous.

The interior of the building was massive, with tall ceilings and large windows that gave a person the ability to see the rest of the city. Cloud Cars and other spaceships zoomed through the air outside the windows, and small cleaning droids raced through the hallways near the trio’s feet.

“What’s wrong with the _Falcon_?” Patrick asked as he lead them through the clean, white hallways in the building. C-3PO lagged behind, his metal legs squeaking with every step.

Tessa shuddered. The white hallways reminded her of her time on the Empire’s _Star Destroyer_. The cells were so dark, and echoey, and at the time, she had thought that the shootout outside the cell block seemed to last forever, but it probably only lasted a few minutes. She remembered being led through a seemingly endless maze of shining white corridors to see Tarkin, to see her planet being annihilated—

She breathed in and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. The headache was getting worse. She gripped Scott’s hand harder, and he shot her a concerned look.

His fingers gently rubbed her hand, and he turned back to Patrick, responding, “The hyperdrive’s broken.”

“Ah, ok.” Patrick nodded. “I’ll get my people to work on it.”

“Good,” Scott responded. “She isn’t supposed to be here.” He said, glancing at Tessa. “I’ve got to get her back.”

Thankfully, Patrick didn’t ask where or who she needed to get back to. “You know, that ship saved my life quite a few times.” He told Tessa. “It’s the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.”

Tessa nodded. She agreed with his statement. That ship had saved her life more than once, as well.

Patrick continued to speak, but Tessa couldn’t seem to hear him. She couldn’t focus anymore.

The pain in her head was growing worse with every step. She realized now that she had no idea where Patrick was taking them. Tessa stopped walking and released Scott’s hand from her own. He immediately noticed and turned around.

Tessa leaned against the wall, holding her throbbing head in her hands. She felt Scott’s hand on her shoulder and heard him ask, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Through gritted teeth, Tessa muttered, “My head hurts.”

She looked up at Scott, and saw that the color had drained from his face. “Like on Hoth?” He asked cautiously, and she nodded.

Something was very, _very_ wrong.

Tessa remembered what she’d told Scott about their departure from Hoth.

_The only reason I knew that Vader was coming for us on Hoth was because I’d only ever felt that sort of fear when he was around. It felt like the worst headache ever. It was like a mind trick or something._

“Having trouble adjusting to the altitude?” Patrick asked, making his way over to them.

“No, no trouble.” Scott responded carefully, looking at his former friend, and then at Tessa.

He rubbed her back gently, just like he did when he was comforting her on his ship in the middle of a galaxy.

Her head still hurt. C-3PO’s metal feet continued to hit the floor. The droid was catching up to them.

“I’ve made sure to prepare some refreshments for you. Fixing the hyperdrive shouldn’t take long,” Patrick reassured them as the trio began walking again.

The hallways seemed to go on forever. Tessa didn’t know how they would be able to get back to the _Falcon_ without using a map.

“As I was saying,” Patrick began, launching back into the conversation that Tessa missed while not being able to focus on anything but the pain. “Since we’re a small gas mining operation, we don’t fall into the, um… jurisdiction of the Empire.”

“So you’re a part of the mining guild?” Tessa asked curiously.

Patrick’s face contorted, as if he was struggling with how to explain this to an average person. “No, not actually. Our operation is small enough not to be noticed, which is advantageous to everyone involved, since our customers would like to avoid attracting attention to themselves.”

Scott frowned a bit at that comment. “But aren’t you afraid that the Empire is going to find out about this… little mining operation of yours, and shut it down?” He asked, and Patrick shook his head.

“That’s always a concern of ours,” Patrick said, leading them down a short staircase. He paused in front of a set of tall, white doors. “But things have developed that will help us insure the security of both the city and the mining operation. And I’ve just made a deal that will help us keep the Empire out of here forever.”

The huge doors slid open, revealing a dining room. It was clean and white, just like everywhere else in the building.

But, at the end of the long, white table, stood none other than Darth Vader.

“Shit,” Scott muttered, grasping her hand harder.

The leader of the Empire breathed heavily through his black helmet, and Tessa felt like her head was going to split in two from the pain.

She was face-to-face with her captor again, but this time, she couldn’t escape.

“I’m sorry,” She heard Patrick say.

Scott moved in front of Tessa, and grabbed his blaster, ready to shoot Vader. Before he could, however, another man emerged from behind the evil leader and shot the blaster out of Scott’s hand.

Boba Fett, the bounty hunter, stood next to Darth Vader as Stormtroopers surrounded Tessa, Scott, Patrick, and C-3PO. His green and silver metal armor and helmet glinted in the light, and his serious posture indicated that he was very determined to get what he wanted.

“You’ve been on the run from Jabba the Hutt, haven’t you, Moir?” Vader’s strained, raspy voice filled the room. “And you, Princess, you escaped your execution.” He waved a black-gloved hand at Tessa.

“Finding you together certainly makes my job a bit easier,” He said, and turned to Boba Fett. “Take the Captain to the chamber.”

Darth Vader motioned to the Stormtroopers. “Take the Princess, the droid, and Mr. Chan to a holding cell while I figure out what to do with them.”

_This definitely wasn’t good._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments make my day! Sorry for not posting this chapter sooner, quarantine is kicking my butt right now, and I needed a few days to slow down a bit and relax. I had to tweak this chapter a lot, since capturing the eerie, foreboding mood of Cloud City was a lot harder than I thought it would be!
> 
> Leia sensing Vader is not in the movie. She senses Luke later, but he’s not a part of this story, so I decided to change it up a bit. The question of why Tessa can sense when Vader is around will be answered in the epilogue/part 2. She needs to visit someone who’ll tell her the answer. :)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	8. seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tessa and Scott learn that Vader has some plans for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance.
> 
> Darth Vader sucks.

The holding cell was a dark, dimly lit room in the basement of the building. There was nothing but a metal bench to sit on, and C-3PO’s feet banged loudly on the floor whenever he took a step. The droid was pacing. The princess wanted to find his “off” button and shut him down.

Tessa sat in silence, fiddling with her hair, which was falling out of her now-messy bun. Patrick stood opposite to her, standing against the wall.

The walls were thin, and she could hear everything that the people in the holding cell next to hers were saying.

On the other side was the chamber.

She could hear Vader and Boba Fett’s conversation.

“Lord Vader.”

“You may take Moir to Jabba the Hutt after I am finished with him.” The raspy voice of Darth Vader filled Tessa’s ears.

“He’s no good to me dead.” She heard Fett say.

“The Captain will not be permanently damaged.” Vader told the bounty hunter.

“What will we do with the Princess and the droid?” Fett asked, his monotone voice displaying no emotion or concern.

“They will stay here. They must never again leave this city.” Vader rasped, and Tessa heard a noise that she couldn’t identify.

The sound of metal hitting metal echoed in her ears.

_What were they planning on doing with Scott_?

“Hey, Mr. Darth-Lord-Vader or whatever,” She heard Scott call out. Tessa’s eyes widened. “You’re _not_ getting her, you hear me? If you even place one finger on her, I’ll fuckin-“

Scott’s sentence was abruptly cut off, and Tessa heard his screams filter though the wall. A faint buzzing noise filled the room.

She quickly turned back to Patrick. “Do you know what they’re doing to him?” She asked angrily. “Did you play a part in this?”

“No!” He said defensively. “I swear, I don’t. I- I didn’t know Vader’s proposal would include _this_. I just wanted Cloud City to be peaceful, to be able to thrive without the Empire’s shadow looming over us. And if that peace comes at the expense of one or two people, so be it.” He looked at her. “I’d rather have one person die instead of thousands of others!”

Tessa glared at him. This man standing before her was not who she thought he was, not at all. “You’re not taking a neutral position in this war at all, are you? You’d choose to obey the Empire rather than doing the right thing and speaking out against them.”

He didn’t respond, and instead looked away.

She thought about what Scott had told her about Patrick. “Scott was right when he told me not to trust you.” She said coolly.

“He- He told you about me?” Patrick asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Tessa answered. “He was wrong about some things, though.” She commented, getting up from the bench and beginning to pace. She walked over to C-3PO and turned the droid off, before turning her attention back to Patrick. “You’re a fucking _liar_ , a- a _scoundrel_. You might as well just call yourself a friend to the Empire.” She spat angrily.

“Hey, let’s not say th-“ Patrick pleaded, and the princess turned around, her eyes flashing.

“I can say what I _want_ , thank you very much,” Tessa seethed. “Y-you don’t know what’s happened to me, what I’ve had to go through during this war.” She said, her voice wavering slightly.

The princess thought of her captivity on the _Star Destroyer,_ being interrogated by Tarkin, and London’s destruction.

And now this.

She continued to pace in the small circular cell, wringing her hand together and muttering under her breath.

To any sane, average person, it would have seemed as if she had lost her mind. Tessa Virtue was breaking down.

“I _knew_ I couldn’t trust a smuggler,” She ranted. “Or, I guess I should say, a gas mining administrator.” She shot Patrick a look, and he raised his eyebrows.

“That’s a bit rich coming from you,” He muttered. “Considering that the only person you seem to trust is a smu-“

Patrick was interrupted by a loud clanging noise. The metal door to the holding cell was thrown open, and Scott was pushed in by two Stormtroopers, who then slammed the door shut.

He didn’t look terrible, but he certainly didn’t look great, either. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was pale. Dark circles were beginning to appear under his eyes, and his hair was messy. He grimaced as Tessa and Patrick helped pick him up off the floor.

Scott lay on the metal bench, his eyes closed and his face contorted in pain.

“Why are they doing this?” Tessa asked worriedly. She gently stroked his hair, which caused the flyboy’s pained features to soften.

“I dunno, sweetheart,” He mumbled, his brown eyes fluttering open. “They didn’t even ask me any questions.”

She kissed Scott’s forehead softly, and his eyes closed again. His breathing slowed, and after a few minutes, it was clear that he was asleep, obviously tired from the whole ordeal.

Oddly enough, he looked… almost peaceful.

Tessa looked up to see Patrick observing her.

“You love him, don’t you?” He asked quietly, and she stiffened.

The fact that she _loved_ Scott was something that she was scared to admit. Everything that she’d ever loved – her planet, her people, her _family_ – had been taken away from her. She was someone that tragic things happened to, not someone who _decided_ that they were happening.

It was practically a curse at this point. Tragedy surrounded her. Tessa Virtue was the loss of a whole galaxy in one woman.

If she got attached to anyone, would something tragic happen to them, too?

“I…” She hesitated. What could she tell this man? He was practically a stranger to her. “Yes.”

Patrick nodded. “Tell him.” He said. “I don’t know what Vader is planning on doing to him after this, but it sure as hell isn’t good.”

Tessa glanced at Scott, who was still sleeping soundly.

“He loves you too, you know.” Patrick added, and Tessa’s eyes shot back to the mining administrator. “I’ve never seen him act like this before.” He told her. “Whatever he did before he met me must’ve hardened him quite a bit, because he used to never… _commit_ to anything. He’d always find a reason to back out of a deal, or leave. He didn’t trust anyone.”

Tessa didn’t doubt for a second that the Imperial Academy had hardened Scott. The things the Empire did definitely had the ability to change a person.

He sighed. “Scott’s changed. I mean, I never would’ve imagined that he’d be committed to a Rebellion, of all things!”

Patrick looked at Tessa like he was expecting her to agree, but she didn’t nod in response.

“He’s not.” She said quietly.

“What?”

“He’s not committed. A month ago he said he was going to leave.”

Patrick opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of a groan caused him to stop. Scott had woken up.

“She’s right,” Scott mumbled. He blinked slowly, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark room. “I was going to pay off Jabba and get that bounty off my head. I guess that doesn’t matter now, eh?”

The princess and the gas mining administrator didn’t respond, but they knew that he was right. Boba Fett, Jabba’s bounty hunter, had caught up to Scott anyway.

“Hey Chiddy, do you know anything about the gas that’s being mined here?” Scott asked curiously, slowly sitting up.

“Yeah, it’s carbon. Why?” The administrator asked.

“Well, when I was in _there_ ,” He nudged his head in the direction of the chamber he was in earlier. “They were saying all this stuff about… _freezing_. Something about how it’s a form of transport, apparently?”

In the dim light, Tessa could see that Chiddy’s face had gone pale. “Carbon freezing…” He muttered. “Holy shit, they’re going to _carbon freeze_ you.”

* * *

The carbon freezing chamber was in an even deeper area of the building, and Tessa suspected that it was one of the lowest areas in all of Cloud City. Considering that this was where the floating metropolis got all of their gas from, it would make sense that the facility would be at the bottom of the city, and nearest to the gas planet of Bespin.

The chamber itself was dark, and the only light came from the small slits in the metal, grate floor, which emitted an orange glow. Blue lights surrounded the perimeter of the circular room. The chamber was bathed in orange and blue light.

As a group of Stormtroopers lead Scott, Tessa, Patrick, and C-3PO further into the carbon freezing chamber, Tessa got an opportunity to look at what surrounded her.

Pipes and chemical tanks filled the room, and a round pit, holding a hydraulic platform, was in the middle. A group of Stormtroopers hauled a coffin-like container over to the pit, and placed it on the platform.

Darth Vader and Boba Fett stood near the platform, talking. Tessa couldn’t hear what they were saying over all the commotion, but she could still hear Vader’s deep, robotic breathing.

It almost made her stomach turn.

She had no idea what Vader’s face looked like, and she’d probably never know. He wore the black mask at all times, which made Tessa wonder if he was either horribly disfigured, somehow, or had a terrible breathing problem, since it seemed that the mask helped him breathe.

“What if he doesn’t survive? He’s worth a lot to me.” She heard Fett say.

“Then the Empire will compensate you if he dies.” Vader replied. He turned to the Stormtroopers, who were finished placing the container on the hydraulic platform. “Put him in.”

The Stormtroopers moved forward, removing Scott’s navy blue jacket, and grabbing his hands and handcuffing them. He looked so vulnerable, standing there only in his faded white shirt and black pants. The cocky, rebellious smuggler she knew was replaced by a scared, defeated man.

_Was this what I looked like when the Empire took me?_ Tessa wondered. _Was I just a terrified, broken shell of a human being, not the strong, caring princess of London?_

“Wait!” He called out suddenly.

The Stormtroopers stop upon hearing Scott’s voice. Vader simply stared at them.

The only sound in the room was the strained sound of Vader’s breathing, and the hissing noises from the pipes.

“Can I…” He gestured in front of him, at her.

“You can go ahead.” One of the Stormtroopers said, pushing Scott forward a bit. He stumbled, trying to keep his balance. If he fell, he wouldn’t be able to get back up. He was weak.

Tessa watched nervously as Scott approached her. His hands were handcuffed, but she took them anyway, interlocking their fingers together.

“I’m afraid I can’t hug you like this, sweetheart,” He laughed weakly, and she thought back to their conversation on the _Falcon_ , when they’d hugged for so long that their heartbeats had managed to sync up. Tessa cracked a small smile and swallowed, hard. Scott smiled sadly, but quickly regained his composure and continued. “Look, um, take care of yourself, ok? I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Scott, you don’t need to be sorry-“

“Yeah, I do, kiddo. I do.” He sighed, and squeezed her hands reassuringly. They both knew what he was sorry for. If the _Falcon_ ’s hyperdrive hadn’t failed, they never would be been in this situation in the first place.

“I guess this is it.” She said quietly.

“Yes, it is.” He replied. His brown eyes seemed to glow in the orange light.

He leaned forward and kissed her softly. She smiled, and tried to memorize the feeling of his lips on hers, the way they seemed to melt together into one person, one being.

She told herself that she _had_ to memorize it, just in case she never got to kiss him again.

The Stormtroopers pulled Scott away, and pushed him onto the metal platform, onto the container. His eyes grew wide as smoke began to fill the round pit.

C-3PO’s metal body creaked as he stood next to her, and for a second, Tessa wished the droid would’ve stayed on the ship, with R2-D2.

She thought of what Patrick told her when they were in the cell. _Tell him._

She would, she decided. She’d tell him she loved him. It might be the last chance she’d ever get.

“I love you,” She said, pouring her heart into every single word.

He looked at her, and his brown eyes widened in shock.

“I know,” He replied quietly, his eyes filling with tears.

_I know you love me. I know I love you, too. I know you’ll come back for me, won’t you? I know I’d come back for you._

The platform dropped, and Scott’s figure was replaced by smoke. She gasped in shock.

The carbon freezing process didn’t take long, but Tessa felt like she was staring at the smoking, empty pit for ages.

_Please let him live, please let him live, please let him live, please let him-_

There was a _whooosh_ ing noise and the hydraulic platform rose from the round pit. The smoke settled, and in Scott’s place was a gray slab of carbonite, which was surrounded by a black frame.

He was inside of it, and she could see the outline of his body in the gray slab. His face was contorted, almost like he was in pain, or he was screaming. Or both.

Tessa thought she might be sick. She breathed in deeply, and squeezed her eyes shut.

Patrick rushed over to take a look at the outside of the frame, which provided information such as the temperature of the body that was inside, and if it was alive or not. He pressed a few buttons, and the small screen on the frame lit up.

_Status: ALIVE_

Patrick exhaled. “He’s alive.” He said, looking at Tessa instead of Vader, Boba Fett, or the Stormtroopers.

Tessa let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Good,” Vader’s voice boomed. He turned to Fett. “You may take him.”

Boba Fett waved his hand towards the carbonite slab, and the Stormtroopers grabbed it, slightly struggling under its weight.

Tessa just watched in silence. Her previous horrific experiences with the Empire had almost made her immune to tears or emotion. She wouldn’t cry when Vader was around, she had promised herself that.

Patrick put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and whispered, “Let’s go.”

Darth Vader dismissed them a few minutes after the Stormtroopers left, and Patrick, Tessa and C-3PO found themselves wandering the seemingly endless, white corridors of Cloud City.

* * *

They were running, dodging droids, humans, and aliens as they raced through the corridors.

“Where are we going?” Tessa shouted.

“We have to find Fett’s ship!” Patrick shouted back. “If we can find it, we have a chance at a saving Scott. If that ship manages to get away, it could be months until we manage to locate him.”

He grabbed her hand, and Tessa took it.

“Vader wants us to stay here,” He explained, panting slightly. “And that’s definitely not happening. We’re escaping.”

“I’m sure you don’t want to spend your life here, Your Highness.” Patrick continued, weaving through the crowds, who looked perplexed. “Cloud City may look like a harmless, beautiful city, but I’m sure that by now, you of all people would know that that’s not true.”

She swallowed and nodded.

Tessa looked behind her, and saw that C-3PO was struggling to keep up. The droid’s stiff legs couldn’t let him run.

They turned another corner, and she realized that they were near the landing platforms. Patrick stopped, and took a quick look around the area to see if they were alone. No Stormtroopers or citizens were in sight, and both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Maybe this escape plan would work. Maybe they’d be able to catch Fett before he left with Scott.

He took out his radio. “I need to call someone,” He said. Tessa raised an eyebrow. She was still wary of the gas mining administrator. “It’s the platform administrators,” He explained. “They’ll tell us where Fett’s ship is.”

“Mr. Chan, what can we do for you?” A bored-sounding voice emitted from the radio, and Patrick sighed.

“I need you to tell me what platform Boba Fett’s ship landed on,” He said. “Quickly, please.”

“Of course.” The voice responded. There was a pause. “Fett’s ship is on Platform 330. He has requested clearance to leave.”

“Thank you,” Patrick said, and shoved his radio back into his pocket. “Let’s go,” He told Tessa and C-3PO.

The trio raced to Platform 330.

The door to the platform was locked, but once again, Patrick was able to call the administrators and have them unlock the door.

The elegant white door slid open, and she gasped.

The long platform stood before her, and at the end of it, Tessa could see Fett’s ship. The sunset had bathed the red and green ship in orange and yellow light, and she was struck by how strangely beautiful it was. Cloud City was gorgeous, yet a sense of foreboding hung above the entire city.

It was beautiful and horrifying at the same time.

Tessa ran out onto the platform, the stray hairs from her messy bun flying in the wind. The ship’s engine began to hum, and she realized with a start that it was taking off. It rose higher into the sky, and shot up into space. The ship was gone in a second, since Fett had obviously activated the ship’s lightspeed capabilities.

“No,” She whispered. “Scott…” She said quietly, her voice wavering.

She turned around, and saw that Patrick had stopped a few steps behind her. C-3PO still stood by the door.

“Shit,” He whispered. “This isn’t good.”

_That’s an understatement_ , Tessa thought. She pursed her lips and closed her eyes. Despite the circumstances, she felt… peace. Serenity. The feeling that, eventually, everything would be okay. It was a new feeling for her, but she embraced it. She opened her eyes and began walking towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Patrick asked, and turned to follow her.

“Back to the _Falcon_ ,” She replied.

“Do you even know how to fly it?!” He asked, as they walked back into the building.

“No,” Tessa said. “But it was your ship. You can fly.” She told him, grabbing C-3PO’s metal arm and dragging the droid along with her.

C-3PO had not spoken a single word since she had turned him back on, when they were going to the carbon freezing chamber. Tessa didn’t know if she should be concerned or relieved to finally get some peace and quiet.

“And besides,” She called out. “This is an escape, remember? We have to hurry.”

* * *

The sight of the _Millennium Falcon_ was a welcome one for Tessa. R2-D2 beeped excitedly when Tessa boarded the ship, but his beeps soon turned to sounds of confusion when the droid noticed that Scott wasn’t with her.

“It’s all right,” Tessa said, and she didn’t know if she was trying to convince the droid, or herself. Patrick began to steer the ship out of Cloud City, and Tessa found herself staring out at the stars.

“We’re going to Endor, right?” Patrick asked. She nodded, and found herself thinking of Scott.

He was out there somewhere, she knew. She wasn’t sure where Fett’s ship had taken him, or what would happen when he eventually arrived at Jabba’s Palace.

She knew he was alive. She sensed it. The feeling she’d felt whenever Vader was around was different from this. It didn’t manifest itself in a headache, but rather, a warm feeling in her heart. It was comforting. Soft.

Tessa didn’t know what it was, but she welcomed it.

She remembered an old saying that her father used to recite. She had no idea what it meant, or where it came from, but she thought of it anyway.

_Emotion, yet peace._

_Ignorance, yet knowledge._

_Passion, yet serenity._

_Chaos, yet harmony._

_Death, yet the Force._

General Lauzon would not be pleased to hear that Scott was gone. The Rebellion had been stationed on Endor for a month at this point, and there was no doubt in her mind that the entire Alliance was wondering where she was.

She sighed. With the General’s permission, she would find Scott. She had to.

Patrick pressed a few buttons and threw the _Falcon_ into hyperspace, and the stars began to blur. Long, blue streaks of light replaced them. The ship was completely surrounded by blue light as it raced through the galaxy, towards the rendezvous point that the General had instructed ships to go to a month ago.

_Was it really only a month ago_? She thought. That fateful day on Hoth seemed to have occurred so long ago. So many things had changed so quickly.

The gentle hum of the _Falcon_ ’s engine began to calm her, and Tessa closed her eyes.

Another mantra, one that she had heard a few times in her childhood, popped into her mind. Once again, she had no idea what it meant, but it comforted her. It was almost like a prayer.

_I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me. And I fear nothing, for all is as the Force wills it._

She smiled a bit. The mantra was, after all, very true. She’d been through enough horrors that she simply didn’t fear anything anymore. And Tessa was one of those people who believed that, no matter what, everything happened for a reason.

It would all be okay. Scott was alive. She’d get him back.

_I fear nothing. I do not fear Vader, or Tarkin, or Fett, or Jabba the Hutt, or even the Empire’s power._ She thought, breathing in deeply.

_For all is as that mysterious Force wills it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that’s the end!
> 
> ... of Part 1. Of course, there are some unanswered questions, like:  
> \- Who is Jabba the Hutt and where is his weird palace?  
> \- Why can Tessa sense people like that? What are those mantras she was reciting?  
> \- Will Scott live?  
> \- Will the Rebellion beat the Empire?
> 
> All of these will be answered in Part 2, which I’m planning right now. It’s not going to be a multi-chapter, but rather, a long one-shot. (Not as long as this, though, this is my longest work ever!)
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed this work! If you liked it, well, I’m sure you’ll enjoy Part 2/the epilogue.
> 
> Kudos and comments make my day!


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